


We're Still Here

by glass_spark



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: AU, Arctic weather, Attachment, Blizzards, Blood, Breaking and Entering, Canada, Cuddling & Snuggling, Female Reader, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hallucinations, Him and reader groundbridge out, Hurt/Comfort, Isolation, It gets better I promise, Kissing, Mass Displacement, Optimus escapes the base AU, Panic Attacks, Paranoia, Police, Possible smut, Separation Anxiety, Slight Canon Divergence, Starvation, Survival, Swearing, Things get spooky, Unethical Science, War, War Crimes, Wilderness Survival, a resident evil reference if you squint, angsty reader, biology jargon, conspiracy time, convenience store theft, dark themes, he's a good one tho, i played too much re3, implied death of background humans, injuries, mild nudity, nonhuman creatures, op can be soft i swear, op is so worried, optimus has mcfucking had it, optimus passes out in a hotel room because he's exhausted, oveuse of the word cold, reader is a little badass too, real dark shit happens, road trip but make it deadly, season 2 finale, secret lab time, shotgun usage, supernatural even, themes of isolation and being alone, this is some stranger things shit, too much internal monologue, way too much running, x files theme
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:40:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24106090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glass_spark/pseuds/glass_spark
Summary: Optimus Prime x reader. AU. So, in the season 2 finale, Optimus and reader actually make it out of the base before it's destroyed, and end up in a remote location during a particularly brutal winter. Him and reader try to survive to make their way back to Nevada in hopes of reuniting with the team. They stumble across a seemingly abandoned place to stay, and strange things ensue. They both learn why it was abandoned to begin with, and not everything is what it seems in this isolated region of the world. They eventually make it back to Nevada, but with a different understanding of the world they inhabit.
Relationships: Optimus Prime/Reader
Comments: 76
Kudos: 170





	1. Midnight Sun

**Author's Note:**

> This should really just be called "I played too much Resident Evil." Anyway, this will may a multi-chapter fic. I'll try to update as frequently as possible.

You wondered how something so white could be so dark.

You exhaled heavily, your breath forming a hazy cloud before you, and continued to focus on the scene in front of you. A blizzard, stronger than any blizzard you’ve ever encountered, slammed your small frame and numbed your skin. You were already battered from braving the wilderness for days, injured because of an ambush before you ended up here, and halfway starving to death.

The only reason you are still alive right now is because your guardian, Optimus, was with you.

The Decepticons had discovered the location of the Autobot base, to everyone’s surprise. The team stood their ground and engaged them, vastly outnumbered. Wheeljack then showed up, seemingly out of nowhere, and fought off fliers to buy the team time to retreat inside and evacuate. Everyone else made it out, but you and Optimus remained, and he was otherwise engaged. You opened the groundbridge by using the computers, and ran towards it, stopping in your tracks to scream at Optimus to come with you. After confirming everyone else made it out, he followed you as the base collapsed.

Now the two of you were alone, in god-knows-where, in the middle of a snowstorm. You had been walking for days, or for what seemed like days, in almost complete silence. You were in shock and couldn’t really say anything.

You were doing somewhat fine until the sudden blizzard caught the both of you off guard. When you arrived here, it was already too cold, and snowy, but not _like this_. Optimus was silent, concentrated, but you knew he was starting to panic internally. You figured you would survive but considering there was no end in sight to the vast expanse of nothing but snowy trees and icy terrain, your chances, and hopes, of survival were dwindling. Your fingers actually hurt not only from your injuries, but from the onset of frostbite. They had turned a dark red in the process and were swelling.

You tried to stay positive.

The reason you weren’t in his cabin right now was because he was desperately looking for a shelter, for the both of you. A cave, a cliff facing away from the wind, _anything_ he hoped, that would decrease the probability of you dying. He would survive perhaps, but remembering his last arctic endeavor, he wasn’t too happy with the uncertainty. Your phone couldn’t get any reception out here, not that you would be able to do much with it anyway, considering that the Decepticons were monitoring everyone’s communications.

Your joints ached; your eyes felt like they were going to stick together as the snow blasted your face. You wanted to lie down in the snow, and close your eyes, you were so exhausted. Every ounce of strength was drained from your body, your stomach growled and clenched painfully at the lack of nutrients and the overexertion of energy. You were only wearing black pants, an under tank, a long-sleeved shirt, a windbreaker over it, and running shoes. Not ideal for subzero temperatures. You could barely see Optimus through the snowfall, that’s how dense it was. Anxiety spiked in your chest as you thought about losing him, and that same fear mustered up whatever energy you had left and made you sprint to get closer to him.

He suddenly stopped and turned to you, optics barely visible. You started getting dizzy. His optic ridges scrunched in worry. He took one look behind him, and then scooped you up before your body hit the ground.

______

You woke up with a headache and pain in your arms and legs. Everything was blurry, bathed in a dull grey light, and still cold, but less cold than before. You realized you were moving. Well, not _you_ but the vehicle you were in. As you gathered your senses, you noticed you were in Optimus’s cabin, and he was driving slowly, movement perpendicular to the winds.

“I was unsure if you would wake up.” His voice riddled with static, played through the speakers.

You only groaned in response. He didn’t like that and seemed to speed up. You sat up and cracked your aching neck. You wondered if he was freezing to death too, because he didn’t even have the heat on anymore. After a few minutes of frozen silence, you spoke up.

“Where are we going?” you asked, voice hoarse.

Optimus hesitated for a few seconds.

“Anywhere else.”

“Optimus do you know if we’re even heading south.”

“I am sure.”

You laid back again and stared outside ahead of you. Nothing but white snow and black trees covered in a icy blue haze. You noticed ice forming on the corners of his windshield. It appeared to maybe be some time in the afternoon, judging by the dimming light in the sky. What would you know, the sun just…never moved. You must be at or near the Arctic circle. You closed your eyes and breathed deeply. The previous nap had caused you to regain some energy, but you were still tired.

Optimus suddenly spoke up.

“Y/N.” he said almost frantically.

Your eyes shot open.

“Do you see that? There is a structure up ahead.”

You squinted and through the snow, you could barely make out the vague structure of what appeared to be a radio tower sticking up above the trees. It looked too geometric to be natural. Optimus sped up, and headed towards it, swaying from side to side as he skidded on the ice. You could now see the structure with better detail.

A decent-sized enclosed concrete building, with a single metal staircase in the front. A radio tower and a few satellites perched on top. Finally, salvation. Optimus stopped and parked in front of it and you could make out a large deep blue sign by the entrance.

“Keno Radio Station, Rest Area and Hotel.” Read the sign in white letters.

You saw that the front doors were boarded up, and chained. There was only a single vehicle in sight. It appeared to be a police car of some sorts, with the letters RCMP GRC and some sort of coat of arms on the side. had no idea what that meant, but judging from the signage on the building, you assumed you were in an English-speaking country. The car was abandoned and buried in the snow. The vehicle didn’t look old at all, it appeared to be of a recent model, but no signs of rust or damage. That concerned you but was overridden by your own sense of survival.

“We must enter.” Optimus said.

He let you out and you stood out in the freezing cold once more. You shivered and watched Optimus transform and yanked off the chains and boards to the door with ease. The doors were metal double doors, a dark grey color, and made a very loud metallic groan when Optimus rammed them open. Instead of walking to the entrance, Optimus picked you up and placed you inside the now open doorway. You then heard more transformation sounds, and saw he had mass displaced to about 8 feet and followed you inside. He slammed the doors shut and barricaded them by sliding a plank through the handles.

It was dark, but you could make out a skylight in the roof at a distance. Optimus turned on his headlights for you to see. You were standing in some sort of main area, the room was large maybe about 100 yards in width, and strangely, hexagonal. There were a few benches, doors, signs, a reception desk, a photo booth, and what looked like vending machines scattered about. The floor was covered in receipts, flyers, newspaper, and other documents. There was a large sign on the wall next to you that displayed a map of the area.

“Yukon Territory Wilderness Map.” You recognized the name Yukon from a documentary you watched.

“Okay, so we’re in the Yukon, in Canada.” You told Optimus.

“Is that far from Nevada?”

“Very.” You said quietly.

Optimus only hummed.

“We need to get the power running.” You told Optimus. He nodded in response. The building was also freezing, but at least there was a chance to get some type of heating system going.

You ventured in further into the building. The place looked? Recent. As if it was just closed for the night, everything was still in its place, minus the mess on the floor, but considering the outside was boarded up and chained, you knew it had been closed for some time. It was kind of eerie. Dust lingered in the air. You wandered for a bit, with Optimus closely behind you. You found the hotel area, but it was too dark, you decided to switch on the power first before doing anything else. You both came across a door that read “Basement: Maintenance room, storage room, fuse box.”

Of course, it had to be the basement. You opened the door with a loud creak and stood at the top of a dark concrete stairwell and gazed into the darkness. You guess Optimus noticed your concern and took the lead. At the bottom of the stairs was a hallway leading to three different rooms. You found the fuse box outside the maintenance room, but it was missing four fuses. Of course.

_‘What is this Resident Evil?’_ you thought as you searched the Maintenance room for spare fuses. Optimus was searching near you, to provide you with lighting.

You opened a drawer and found a couple new ones, seemingly untouched. With a sigh of relief, you grabbed four and headed back out.

“Do you know how to operate this?” Optimus asked as you placed the fuses in the appropriate slots.

“Yes.” You said.

Regardless of your answer, Optimus decided he would pull the lever to switch on the power, worried you might electrocute yourself. You let him, not wanting to argue. After sputtering for a brief moment, the power came back on with a loud uproar of humming, then stabilized itself. You let out yet another sigh of relief. Optimus gently smiled at you.

You searched the storage room for anything useful, and found mostly retail and hotel supplies, copy paper, and some old appliances. A long green locker, cracked slightly open, remained on the wall towards the ground, and you opened it. To your surprise, you found more than what you expected: A shotgun. A shotgun and shotgun _shells_. Though you knew you didn’t really need a weapon considering you were literally travelling with Optimus Prime, you took it anyways, after explaining to a worried Optimus that you knew how to use it. It came with a back scabbard, so you slung it around you. You also took a pair of bolt cutters that were hanging inside the locker door.

After making it back upstairs, now with adequate lighting, you saw at one end of the main room was what looked like a small convenience store. The roll up security gate was covering the front and was chained to the ground with a lock. Not for long. You approached the lock and cut it open, and Optimus rolled up the gate. You found the light switch on the wall and took a look around.

There were four off-white metal shelves in the center, one wall rack, a stand next to it, and 2 refrigerators in the back, the shelves were fully stocked, though some of the items were stale and possibly spoiled. You looked at the register, on the counter next to it, was money. Seriously, a stack of colorful Canadian Dollars bound by a rubber band, just sitting there. A layer of dust rested not just upon the bills, but on everything in the store actually.

Now this _really_ concerned you. You were starting to get suspicious.

_Why_ would someone abandon shop and leave everything here? _Especially_ money?

“Something bad must have happened here to leave everything behind like this.” You told Optimus and he stood beside you. Optimus looked around, you noticed the way the mechanisms in his optics moved when he focused his sight on something, and he ex-vented.

“If there is any threat present, I will protect you.” He said in his usual leader-like fashion. He stood by the door and kept watch.

You grabbed a plastic red shopping basket and roamed around.

You took crackers, granola bars, dried fruit, nuts, candy, dried noodles and rice, cereal packets, a can of ground coffee, tea bags, a few bottles of electrolyte solution, water, painkillers, antibiotic cream, bandages, a first aid kit, soap, shampoo, vitamins, and rubbing alcohol.

There was a section with hiking supplies. You took a hiking backpack, a map of the Yukon Territory, a compass, a flashlight, a reusable water flask, some nylon ropes, and surprisingly, you found signal flares. You had to get another basket. On a wall rack adjacent to the hiking supplies was a small selection of outdoor clothing and a few pairs of hiking boots. You took a thermal sweater, a large insulated coat, thermal pants, socks, and a pair of boots. Your own clothing was NOT well suited for this climate.

“Is this not…stealing?” Optimus asked and he came up behind you, looking at your overflowing baskets.

“If this place was closed down, does it matter?”

Optimus hummed again.

You filled the backpack with supplies you wouldn’t need right now and walked out with one basket in hand. You made your way to the hotel area and pushed open the double pinewood doors. “Hotel” was a massive understatement, it was more like, a total of 6 rooms. You opened the door to room 1 and both you and Optimus were shocked to find that the ceiling had caved in, and the room was covered in fresh snow. There was _somehow_ , grass growing in the corner of the room away from the cave-in. You closed that door, and placed a chair against it, so it wouldn’t blow out and chill the air even more. Each room was the same, so you decided on room 6 because it was farthest away from the caved-in room, meaning more warmth.

It had a single large bed with thick blankets, a small table with a single chair, a basic bathroom, a microwave, a portable butane gas stove placed on a bare counter with a sink, and a heater. It only had a very small window with thick frosted glass, high up on the wall and covered with a dark purple curtain, it was large enough to say, you could squeeze through it if you needed to escape. You assumed it was because of the weather.

_Really weird._ You set down your basket and backpack on the table, placed the shotgun on the far end, and turned on the heat.

“Y/N, I am going to recharge. Wake me if there is something wrong.” Optimus told you.

You nodded. Optimus laid back on the bed and groaned. You knew he was exhausted too; you didn’t say anything as he closed his optics and vented quietly. You stared at him for a moment, the leader of the Autobots, a powerful figure that half of his planet looked up to, passing out in a hotel room, you quietly chuckled.

You found a single steel pot and a butane gas canister in the counter’s cabinet space, managed to start up the stove, and emptied a water bottle into the pot to heat it up. As you did, you downed an entire water bottle in under a minute and began eating some of the snacks you stole from the store. You made a cup of tea, and thanked every single divine being there was as you took your first sip and relinquished in the warmth. You had regained complete sensation in your body, but it still hurt, and you were still aware of your injuries. You had to shower to clean them off before infection set in.

After feeding your starving body you grabbed a towel and some soap and went to the bathroom. You realized the door was missing, or it didn’t have a door to begin with. _Weird._ The bathroom was a stark, almost blinding white tile from floor to ceiling and had a humming fluorescent light tube over the cracked mirror. You looked at yourself.

Your skin was paler than its usual color, and dull. Your eyes had bags, and dark circles underneath them. Cuts and bruises were visible on your face and neck, and your h/c hair was becoming a bird’s nest. Literally. It was matted down, tangled, humid and smelly from the snow, and you even found a few pine needles in it.

You looked back at Optimus. From his vantage point he would get a full view of you if you undressed, but he was already out like a light in recharge. You never seem him so tired before.

You hesitated for a second and abandoned all convention. You stripped down your clothes, filled the sink with water and soap and let them soak. You would hand wash them after your shower.

You examined your body and noticed you had lost some weight, unhealthily of course, from starving for a few days. You recalled only finding some hawthorn berries covered in ice, a half-frozen mustard plant, burdock roots and birch sap you’ve been sipping from tapped trees to hydrate yourself along with eating snow.

There was a moderately deep gash that started on your clavicle, crossed your shoulder and ran down your upper back, it stopped bleeding a while ago, dried blood had crusted over it, swollen and red around the edges, and it looked like it was starting to get infected. You remembered how you got it, as you were running towards the groundbridge as the base was falling apart, and one of the panels from the ceiling structure had fallen and cut you.

There were other, smaller cuts, burns and bruises along your arms, torso and legs as well. Your hands were bruised, scratched up with blood and dirt under your fingernails.

The groundbridge didn’t close immediately after the two of you had ran through, and the explosive force of the base collapsing sent a powerful shockwave through the vortex, and slammed the both of you into the trees nearby, that’s why your midsection ached. You got splinters from that, and from running through the trees like a wild animal. Flaming debris also flew through the portal, burning your skin in a few areas on impact before being extinguished in the snow.

_‘I probably fractured a rib.’_ You thought.

The bitter cold probably numbed some of the pain, you figured. At least you were able to ignore it long enough to keep going. You were going to get seriously fucked over when you wake up tomorrow, though. You decided you would take painkillers and go to sleep later.

The floor was icy as your feet walked across the tile to the shower. It had a frosted glass sliding door with a silver trim, and it squeaked when you opened it. The tub was bone dry, and dusty. You turned the handle to the red zone and waited a few minutes until the water started getting warm. Soon enough, steam filled the air.

After you got in, the hot water actually kind of _hurt_. You assume it was because you had been cold so long, so you lowered the heat and settled for warm water instead, to thaw your body first before boiling it. The water made your cuts sting, and you hissed through your teeth at the sensation. At least the tension in your muscles you didn’t even realize was there started to ease. You sighed, and relaxed into the water, knowing it wasn’t going to last long enough. You washed your hair and yourself, paying special attention to your injuries.

You got out, dried yourself, took out the first aid kit, bandages and antibiotic cream and got to work. It took a little contortion to get all the spots on your torso, minus a couple on your back. You pondered for a second to ask Optimus to help you with those hard to reach ones, but you then swatted that thought away, with the slightest blush on your face. You decided not to wear the hiking clothes until when the two of you left to get back on the road. They were too heavy to wear inside, so you decided to wrap the towel around yourself and handwash your old clothes in the sink. The areas where you had gotten injured had holes and tears in them, obviously. After removing all the crap on them, you sprained them really well, and walked out into the room to hang them up by the heater. Optimus was still asleep, and he had rolled over to one side.

You sat down on the bed, still wearing the towel, wondering if you should sleep like this or not, especially next to Optimus. You got on your tip toes and looked outside the small window. it was darker than usual, but still not completely nighttime, and my god, _still snowing._ You walked around the room, and decided to at least put on the thermal pants, and keep the towel wrapped around your torso. Your injuries also needed to breathe after being insulated for days. You sat back down on the opposite side of the bed, and started to feel very sleepy, your previous exertion was catching up with you. You stopped thinking about it too much and pulled up the blankets towards you. So what if he saw you topless the next morning?

The two of you almost died in this motherfucking climate, and the Autobot base was gone. Megatron blew it to hell. The team and the kids were scattered throughout the planet. Darkmount was literally sitting in the Jasper desert. The Decepticons…didn’t _win_ , but certainly hit the team hard.

You started recalling everything that had happened in the past few days like the recap in the beginning of a TV show. Everything changed so quickly. It almost didn’t seem real. One moment you’re in the base, watching the Autobots talk about the Omega Lock being destroyed, clearly seeing the hope of ever seeing their planet with life again fading from their eyes. Then, your own world is crumbling around you, and you find yourself barely alive in the middle of a snowstorm in the arctic with Optimus. You immediately went into survival mode, and had to move, so you didn’t really have time to think about what the fuck just happened. Now here you were, safe for now, warm and fed, and did your thoughts come back to slap you.

You laid down, and looked up at Optimus, and gently draped one of the blankets over him too, he probably didn’t need it, but he deserved one regardless. You can’t even imagine what he’s thinking, the emotions and thoughts that must be running through his processor. He just went through a devastating defeat, and now he had to worry about your own survival too. Your mind flashed the image of his worried optics looking at you through the blizzard.

He was afraid. Maybe not just for you, but for what this meant for the war. He was a leader, and like any, he had to remain calm, and hold his ground despite the turmoil in his spark. You wanted to comfort him somehow, make things better. He was more than just your guardian. He had become closer, something you couldn’t describe. You saw a lot of yourself in him, but also appreciated the things about him that were so different. Yes, he was Optimus Prime, but he was still a person.

For some reason you started to cry. Perhaps it was the isolation, or the situation. The prolonged stress you endured was probably starting to manifest now. Your heart ached for him, for the team, for the children, for Fowler, for June, for everything right now. It quickly overwhelmed you, and you accidentally let out a quiet sob.

Optimus opened his optics and lowered his optic ridges.

“Are you alright?” he asked, in a voice so soft you have never heard him use before.

You scooted closer to him and replied.

“Sorry I woke you.”

“Do not apologize.”

“I’m just…”

“I understand.”

You looked at him for a second. He then brought a servo to your arm and gently rubbed it.

“Thank you for the blanket, you must rest now, you require it. We must depart tomorrow. We will prevail and overcome this time of uncertainty.” He reassured.

“I have faith in you, Optimus.”

“I know.”

With that, you finally let yourself succumb to exhaustion, closed your eyes and went to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: Not Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys! Thanks for all the support and lovely comments on Chapter 1! I love y'all! Anyways here's chapter 2! Kiss kiss fall in love~  
> _________  
> ***TRIGGER WARNING: BLOOD, IMPLIED DEATH, GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF A CRIME SCENE, BRIEF NUDITY (IMPLIED FEMALE ANATOMY), AND GUN MENTION!***

The only thing you felt initially was dull, aching pain in just about every part of your body as you transitioned into a waking state. You didn’t move. You then noticed your face and arms were pressed against something hard. _Metallic_ , and glass-like as well? And pretty warm. Unconsciously, as all mammals do, you inched towards the heat, pressing your face into it, not realizing what, or _who_ it was. You appreciated the warmth, the softness of the sheets and blankets around the rest of your body. You swear you could register a gentle whirring coming from your immediate vicinity, that almost, very faintly, had a pulse to it. It was soothing, though you did not know its origins. You inhaled deeply, and your newly oxygenated brain cells put the pieces together. The something you were snuggled up against was a _someone_. Optimus. Your eyeballs shot open, almost tearing your eyelids. Your ears perked up. All you saw was red, silver, black, metal and glass. 

‘ _Oh fuck.’_

You laid there, paralyzed for almost a solid minute. Then scooted backwards a little, but your lower torso was so wrapped up in the blankets you barely budged an inch.

“Good morning.” You heard the baritone voice that belonged to Optimus pierce the silence. You jumped in your blanket cocoon.

You hear Optimus sit up, which made you sit up as well, and you immediately regretted it. Your body sounded the pain alarms everywhere there was a nerve ending. You groaned and rubbed your face with your hands. You felt a strange coolness brush over your chest as a piece of fabric fell from it. You turned to Optimus to say good morning back, but instead, were met by widened optics and a surprised gaze.

“What is it?” You said.

Your brain caught up with you. You looked down, and in horror, realized why he was so perplexed.

You were topless. Titties out, in their full glory.

You froze in place and returned Optimus's wide eyed-stare. Your face, rushing with blood, was now hotter than the sun itself. Your heart was graciously letting you know it was working. You were going to pass out.

Optimus just…stared. You were unsure if it was because he _wasn’t_ familiar with your biology, and was simply curious, or frightened, because of the novelty of such a strange feature of human anatomy, or it was because he _was_ familiar with your biology, and consequently your customs, and knew exactly what this entailed. After what possibly was the longest twenty seconds of your life, he spoke up.

“I-…I did not mean to-“ he stuttered and immediately looked away. You have never, _never_ , heard him stutter.

“I apologize.” He continued.

“Don’t worry about it.” You said, blushing so hard your bones turned pink, as you covered yourself with the towel, that was almost on the floor at this point.

You cleared your throat. Optimus continued to be absolutely entranced by the window in the opposite direction from you. You hastily, but awkwardly, grabbed your dried clothes from where they were hanging from the wall heater, along with the first aid kit for a new round of wound care, and slid into the doorless restroom. Optimus remained where he was.

Thankfully, you could not hear his cooling fans turning on at their lowest setting from your location.

You put on your clothes, washed your face, and methodically applied a new layer of antiseptic, then antibiotic cream and then bandages to your wounds. You pushed your hair back with your fingers in a bastardized attempt to brush it and exited the restroom. You found Optimus staring out the window.

“I do not know if it is wise to leave just yet.” He spoke, regaining his calm poise.

“Why not?” you asked, as you made a beeline for the snack basket.

“The conditions appear to have worsened.”

“Serious?” you replied as you took a rather loud bite out of a granola bar.

You walked towards him, and stood on the tips of your toes to peer outside. Nothing but white, and you could hear the howling winds tearing through the landscape.

“Should we wait another day? I mean we have enough supplies for several.”

“I do not know when this weather will dissipate.”

“Blizzards don’t last an entire week, Optimus.”

“I hope you are right.”

You looked at him in the face again, and he was still worried. He also looked…weary? His eyebrows were lowered in contemplation, gaze distant and mouth in a straight line. You couldn’t blame him.

“How are you feeling?” He asked you softly.

“I feel like I got run over several times but at least I’m alive.” You answered, taking another bite.

He didn’t like that reply so much. Yes, you were still here, but you were severely hurt, exhausted, starving and lost. He couldn’t do much to help you, and internally, he was blaming himself for your condition. Though, he did not know whether to say it or not.

“Optimus?”

“Yes?”

“Are _you_ okay?”

His mouth pursed into an even straighter line, if that was possible, and he looked at you from the side of his optic for a brief moment.

“I am fine.”

“Don’t lie to me, Optimus.”

He turned and looked at you in directly in the eyes this time. No way he can deceive you, you know him to well.

“I am…worried. The situation at hand is very difficult. I am unsure of what action I must take when we depart from here.”

“Elaborate.”

The both of you sat down, side by side on the edge of the bed. Optimus stared at the wall in contemplation before choosing his next words.

“Above anything else, we must locate the rest of the team and return to Jasper. But without any form of communication, or way of locating them, and without a base of operations, I am afraid that will require a long time. Time, that we do not have. There is no doubt that with my absence and our defeat, Megatron has surely taken advantage of his newfound might and turned it against humankind. I fear he will cause incalculable destruction.”

Okay, starting off with the end of the world, always a cheerful thought. You felt your stomach sink as he spoke, the realization dawning on you that he’s right. Megatron is out there, believing the Autobots to be dead, and no doubt holding Earth hostage. You only heard, from a panicked Arcee as she was running around inside, that Darkmount was heavily armed with powerful weapons beyond your imagination, though you never actually saw the place itself.

“You don’t think…he’s retaliating because you destroyed the Omega Lock do you? If I can’t have Cybertron, then you can’t have this world either kinda deal?” you queried.

Would it be worse if that were the reason for his rampage? Or if he was just hellbent on conquering earth regardless? 

He only stared at you. Not a word in response, but no words were required to know the answer.

You, in a spur of sudden boldness, grabbed his much larger hands, and held them in yours, much to his surprise.

“You are Optimus Prime, you’ve gone through much worse. I believe in you, so does the rest of the Autobots They’re out there, with hope held in their sparks that you will come back stronger than ever, and you _will_. You got this.” You spoke kindly, impressed by your own words.

He also seemed to be moved by your words, and gave you a sincere smile, the type of smile you could also see in the eyes. One that made your heart melt into a puddle. Rarely does he show that type of expression, but you will relinquish in it when he does.

You smiled back. He did not retrieve his hands from your hold on them.

You felt something, churning in your abdomen, not in a bad way though. It was a subtle spike of excitement and yearning for something that you could not describe. It was gone as quickly as it arrived as your rational brain overrode it, but it still registered that you felt it. He still remained with his hands locked with yours, but his eyes were lost in thought.

“Optimus?” you spoke, which brought him back to the present.

“Yes?”

“We have to move now.”

______

You had finished up the food you were going to eat today, and made something that was like halfway a coffee, but it was more like coffee flavored hot water filtered through a piece of fabric you ripped off the spare sheets you found in the closet that you filled with coffee grounds. Still worked though.

You had put on your battered windbreaker over your equally messed up shirt, stuffed the remaining items into the backpack, slung the shotgun around your torso, and hid away the extra food and the cabinet and the backpack under the bed. Though you don’t know _why_ you had the urge to hide stuff in the room, it’s not like anyone was _around_ to steal it anyway, you still had a vague primal sense that something was lurking in the darkness. Optimus asked if bringing the shotgun with you was necessary, you said you just had a gut feeling. He accepted it but was still wary.

You exited the room first and were met by cold air. _Naturally_. The heater in the room heated up the room itself and maybe like, five feet down the hallway, but the chill proved dominant. Perhaps there was a central heating system to activate somewhere in here. Now that both of you had the energy to do something else.

You walked down the hallway with almost premonitory caution. You then found out your intuition was nagging at you for a reason.

_BAM!_

The door to the room with the caved-in roof suddenly blew open, came off of the hinges, and hit the adjacent wall with a clattering thump. It was almost as if someone forcefully kicked it open. The noise was so loud and sudden it caused you to leap backwards, let out a yelp as your heart pounded. Snow began sprinkling into the hall in that section as frigid air rushed in and blew your hair strands around. The wooden chair you had used to prop it was gone. Optimus instinctively pushed you behind him as he moved in front of you and hovered his hand in front of your torso as he took a defensive stance. _So protective_. If the door was blown open by the wind, the chair should’ve been within a few feet nearby. The chair literally just vanished.

He transformed his arm into his blaster and walked towards the room itself. Though you’d doubt there would be anyone here, even less likely any Decepticons, his natural reaction was to prepare for an ambush. Considering his experience, it wasn’t unusual.

Not even a snowstorm could blow a solid wooden door off its’ hinges.

You stood there holding your breath hostage as you watched him enter.

Optimus signaled to you that it was safe. You approached him and entered the room stopping a foot or two in front of the doorway. The room had more snow in it now, and you could see it pouring it through the ceiling, illuminated by the pale grey sky. The chair wasn’t inside either? It was nowhere to be found. The strange cold-resistant grass you saw the other day was also gone. You figured the snowfall covered it.

Optimus told you to leave the room, and he picked up the room’s table, picked up the door, placed it back in the doorway, and propped the door closed with it by leaning the table on one side. There was still plenty of room in the hall for the two of you to pass through.

You two continued down the hall, not saying a word, Optimus taking the lead this time.

You found yourselves in the main area again. You hit the light switch and fluorescent lights illuminated the chamber in artificially white lights that hummed loudly. The type of white lights that would make your eyes hurt after a while. One of the large rectangular box display signs with information was tipped over. The thing looked heavy. The framed sign on the wall near the entrance you looked at when you first arrived was shattered on the floor. That sent a chill down your spine that wasn’t due to the weather. Optimus ex-vented.

“We are not alone here.” he spoke up.

“Other humans?”

“I do not know.”

Optimus kept his guard up and inspected the area. Now that the both of you were there, it was dead silent. _Too_ silent. Maybe the isolation was getting to the both of you. Maybe your memories of where the items originally were placed were corrupted, wrongfully encoded information that occurred because of fatigue?

“I do not see anything.”

“Maybe it was nothing?”

Optimus hummed.

“Okay, let’s get more stuff, and monitor the weather. Once it stops blizzard-ing we’ll get the fuck out of here.”

“Language, Y/N.”

_________

There were some doors leading to other areas in the building the two of you did not enter when you arrived. You decided to explore in the meantime to find anything useful.

Before doing that, Optimus had located the central heating system’s control panel in the basement and started it up. Dust and light smoke spewed through the vents of the building for a few minutes until it was working properly. Finally, you could defrost for a bit.

On a side wing of the main chamber was a glass double door with metal handles that resembled supermarket doors. Apparently there used to be something etched into the glass, perhaps the name of the business, or something identifying the area, but it was strangely scratched out. The doors also had chains around the handles, and a lock. You cut it with the bolt cutters, and Optimus stepped in first.

It smelled kind of weird in here, musky, damp, with a hint of what seemed like trash. You entered through a small room with another pair of double doors on the right-hand side that led somewhere else. The small room only had a cushioned bench, a counter that resembled a reception desk, two wall lamps, and picture frames on the mustard walls. You turned on the lights. There were no pictures, they were all mirrors reflecting your own image back at you. Creepy.

Optimus opened the other double doors and switched on the light. He engaged his battle mask and inspected the area with his blaster out. He gave you a hand signal and you proceeded behind him.

This was actually a restaurant. It has a vague 1950’s diner theme, but with duller colors. A neon sign on the back wall lit up in red and yellow. “Maddie’s Diner” it read. There were 5 booths next to heavily boarded up windows. The lamps hanging from the ceiling were a dark red glass, and cone shaped. The walls were a dark grey. It was kind of nostalgic overlaid by a layer of unease.

You decided to check the kitchen. Empty food containers, rotten vegetables, a billion sauce and spice packets, plastic cups, empty bottles, dusty plates. You opened a cabinet and found a used stovetop moka pot and some packets of sugar. You were _so_ taking this back. You put it in an empty cardboard box and placed it on the counter near the exit to take with you. If you were going to be stuck in this frozen hellscape might as well have some decent coffee.

Optimus looked around the storage room near the manager’s office on the other side of the diner and found nothing of use. There was a freezer next to the stoves where you were rummaging around. You grabbed on the metal door’s handle and opened it after tugging on it, it seemed jammed for a second, and the light inside turned on at your motions. You let out a scream.

Optimus heard your shriek and immediately dropped what he was doing and sprinted in your direction, knocking over just about everything in his vicinity.

“Y/N! What happened!” he said almost frantically as he approached you.

You were backing away from the freezer, eyes wide and you were trembling as you analyzed the image before you.

Inside the freezer was blood. Human or otherwise, there was _plenty_ of it. It was concentrated primarily in a large spot on the floor close to a metal shelf, some splattered on the lower walls and what looked like a drag mark going along the floor and up the wall into an air vent. The pool itself appeared to be only have begun drying up, it was still somewhat liquid but coagulating and darkened, and the blood serum had already separated. The smaller marks and splatters were dried already. It smelled like iron with hints of decomposition setting in. It looked like a scene from a horror film. Beside the pool on the ground was a pistol. A silver Smith and Wesson 5946, with the magazine on the floor beside it, and a handheld radio nearby towards the other end. You knew the police carried radios and guns like these. Luckily, you were into true crime and could identify it as such. Reading and hearing about it is one thing, witnessing it for yourself is something else entirely. Whatever happened here was violent, and you suspected the officer may have been killed judging by the amount of blood in the room.

“By the Allspark…” Optimus said quietly as he looked at him.

He stood in front of you and his optics widened in horror.

_‘So that’s why the patrol car was left abandoned outside’_ You thought.

“The question here is, what killed them?” you spoke, voice wavering and cracking as you felt anxiety building in your chest. You swallowed, but you had a lump in your throat.

You moved away from the door to where you couldn’t see the scene anymore, and walked out into the dining area, realizing that it had impacted you more than you initially thought. Sitting down at the edge of a booth, you breathed heavily to regain your composure. Your stomach clenched and you felt lightheaded. Your breaths were shaky, and you felt as if you were not getting enough air and began to cry. You were having a panic attack, you acknowledged it, but could not control your reaction, which was natural. Your thoughts became disorganized as you tried to breathe.

You heard Optimus shut the door with a loud thud, and he muttered something you couldn’t make out, it did not sound like it was English, not even remotely. Maybe he was speaking Cybertronian? You stared at the dusty polished wood floor through your tears. That image is forever burned into your mind. You were still shaking. You heard Optimus’s characteristic metallic footsteps approaching quickly, and they stopped as he stood in front of you. He kneeled down and placed both his servos on your shoulders.

“Are you alright?” he asked, very softly, retracting his mask.

You shook your head.

“Let’s leave. There is nothing here.”

You nodded, unable to form words as you were coming down from your panic attack. He stayed there for a minute, servos rubbing your arms and shoulders, offering a supportive presence.

He took his servos off your shoulders and held one out to you to help you up. You took it and held onto his hand as he led you out of the diner, picking up your box on the way out with your free hand. He re-chained the diner’s doors, quietly deciding neither of you were going back in there. You were in shock, mind still in disarray, you did not say a word as you went into autopilot and went back to the store to get more water. You decided to take the money this time, rationalizing that you were going to need it once you left.

You did not want to explore the rest of the building for obvious reasons, but you thought you needed to. Later, perhaps. By the look of things, the storm wasn’t ending anytime soon either. You held onto Optimus the entire time, and as the both of you passed the entrance, you wanted nothing more than to run out into the storm, but you knew it wasn’t an option.

The both of you made it back to the room. You sat on the side of bed and began silently crying again.

_‘How many times am I going to cry?’_

You thought that maybe you were weak, but you are also traumatized, and stressed. Optimus sat down beside you, and strangely, pulled you into an embrace. Maybe Optimus is losing it too, because since _when_ does he hug people? You leaned into his chassis, and stayed there, breathing erratic, a tear or two spilling out occasionally, and you closed your eyes.

“Easy sweetspark.” He cooed and ran a servo down your back in attempt to comfort you.

You have never seen him so affectionate before, even less in the short span you’ve been in this ordeal. It was comforting to know he had a soft side, but you wondered why he rarely showed it.

It took a while before you had stabilized your distress and your breathing returned to almost normal. And Optimus sat there the entire time as you did, holding you, stroking your back, head, and arms, and being as patient as ever. You rested on him, listening to the whir of his spark, silently realizing that was the sound you heard when you awoke earlier. He practically cradled you, and at one point, even rested his head on top of your own. You were consumed by his presence, not that you minded it. You did not deserve him, or so you thought.

You began to realize your feelings. You did not fight them this time.

You did not know it, but he was worrying so much over your well-being to the point where it made his spark ache seeing you so distraught. It pulled and nagged at him, at times overriding his other thoughts. You did not know just how much he cared, how much he longed to protect you, and make you feel okay. You were present when Bulkhead said he’s never seen Optimus laugh, cry or lose his cool. Though you believed Bulkhead, you knew that on the inside, Optimus was dealing with his own troubles. You understood _why_ he had to act the way he does, but you also knew that holding everything in was not healthy, even though you yourself were guilty of this.

You had calmed down even further, not entirely though, but enough to get you back on your feet. You pulled away from his embrace, much to your dislike. You were still close to him, and you dared to look into his optics. Bright and blue, as always.

He blinked slowly; expression unreadable but you noticed his optic ridges twitch and eyes narrowed very subtly, as if he had a brief thought then banished it away.

Optimus moved his upper body somewhat closer to you as if he were going to tell you something in a whisper, and in your emotionally charged daze, you impulsively kissed his cheek, rather close to his mouth if not almost on top of it. Surprisingly, his faceplates were softer than you expected and quite warmer too. Your lips stayed there for a few seconds. He did not move, but you however, pulled away in a sudden jerk.

He froze.

So did you.

Why did you do that?

_‘Why did I do that?!’_ you screamed in your head.

Optimus only stared and blinked. You stared back. Despite the subzero temperatures, your face was burning up enough to melt the entire arctic circle. You noticed his faceplates were…darker? And almost dusted blue?

Oh my god, blue as in energon…can Cybertronians even blush? Because it definitely looked like he was at the moment. You could not believe what was happening right now. You wanted to pass out again, please.

His mouth quivered and looked like he was suppressing a smile as he glanced sideways, looking at anything else except you. He halfway gave in and his lips pursed into a slight smile, still maintaining some resistance. He ex-vented. You swear you thought you would never see the day that Optimus Prime would be even remotely flustered.

You just sat there, flabbergasted. Exhausted. Confused. Did you really just make him blush? 

“I see.” He finally spoke up.

You remained locked in your position.

_‘You see what?!’_

Your impulsive id mind thought about kissing Optimus again, and you swore to whatever deities exist up there you were going to throw your brain in the trash can you saw at the reception desk.

His gaze then returned back to you. You shuddered for a second as his optics searched for answers in your eyes. His looked brighter than before.

“I am so sorry-“ you started.

“Do not be.” He blurted out before you could finish, that half smile still on his face.

That was unexpected, he never interrupted you. What the fuck is happening. You were unsure what to feel anymore, as you were feeling everything simultaneously. Fear. Safety. Exhaustion. Apprehension. Determination. Uncertainty. Love? Confusion. Back to fear. The emotional roller coaster you had experienced today was too much, you wanted to get off this ride. After what seemed like an eternity and a half of silence, he spoke again.

“Y/N, are you alright enough to keep moving?"

You nodded, still blushing. He stood up, and held out his hand once more. You took of course, but this time with a completely different context. 

_________


	3. Chapter 3: In the Distance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh scoob (◕‿◕✿) we're getting angsty here. Also shit hits the fan lmao. 
> 
> Mild warning for cursing, shotgun usage, spooky things, war crimes and angst. Optimus has mcfucking had it, reader is falling in love but they're like fuck. 
> 
> Sorry for the delay y'all, college and work has me [windows shutdown sound effect].

You tried not to dwell too much on what just happened…but that is proving to be rather difficult.

Your heart is thumping in your ribcage, you can hear the blood pumping in your ears and feel it pooling in your cheeks. You no longer required a heavy overcoat to make you run hot. You think you’re an idiot. Your mind starts its’ usual bullshit and starts questioning everything. Not only are you in physical pain, but mental pain is starting to affect you too.

 _‘We’re not even the same species, why on earth would he want a human?!’_ you mentally screamed at yourself.

It’s not that you were a bad choice or anything, but the amount of difference between the both of you was abundant. He was a powerful leader of an ancient alien civilization that’s been fighting a civil war since before the human race existed. A robotic titan with experience and wisdom beyond anything you could fathom. Relationships between Cybertronians and organics had to be rare? If not socially unacceptable? You really had no idea, but it didn’t seem plausible.

He probably reacted that way to flatter you…or did he? Or did he not? Why _did he_ react that way? It seemed so genuine. The way his optics glanced to the side and his face flushed with energon. It left you with too many questions, and little answers. It’s not like you could just _ask_ Optimus Prime if he liked you, flustered and shy like a middle school girl talking to her crush.

You tried to rationalize. It can’t be true. It can’t be anything beyond being polite. You didn’t want to go down that rabbit hole. Though there was a part of you, deep within that wanted it to be. An impulsive, yearning part of you that wanted to indulge and fantasize. You forced your thoughts to go back to their room.

This was also not the time to be stuck on such feelings. Considering everything you have gone through, you thought you are selfish to dwell on such thoughts. Optimus probably didn’t have time for this either, for crying out loud.

The both of you had to survive and get back to Nevada, and you had to not think about falling in love with an alien robot.

He also probably believes you would be better off with someone of your own species.

_‘Y/N, shut the fuck up.’_

You and Optimus paced around the main chamber once again, searching. You had filled up your backpack, believing the storm to finally be dying down a little, so you would be ready to bug out just in case. Your uneasy feelings got worse every moment you spent in this place, and you wanted nothing more than to just return home. This place was probably cursed too, considering everything that has happened. Your mind raced.

_What are the other Autobots doing? What do they think right now? Are they okay? Are the kids okay? What about your family? Your friends? What about Jasper?_

You had been so fixated on surviving with Optimus that you failed to ask yourself how you were going to explain this to your relatives, your friends, your job, your school. You had disappeared off the face of the earth, and the Jasper Police Department and who knows, even the fucking FBI was probably looking for you, and no doubt also looking for Jack, Miko, Raf and June. There’d be several missing persons reports once everyone made it back alive.

_‘If we make it back alive.’_

What had even happened to Jasper? Did Megatron destroy it? Did he conquer the rest of the god damn world and you and Optimus had no idea because you’re here?

What if you’re the only ones left?

Uncertainty is frightening.

Your legs moved forward without much thought. You had become so accustomed to walking for days that your body went into autopilot when you started again. Your legs still hurt, the cuts stung, and your feet ached, but here you are, walking. You followed Optimus like a duckling, not wanting to lose his presence. You have been clinging onto him too much, you suppose you had no other choice. As you dove deeper into your own head, you failed to see that he had stopped, and you crashed right into his backside.

Your pace had to be a bit quicker, to keep up with his own, so you ran into him quite hard. You hit your head on the back of his chassis with a loud “bonk” and stumbled backwards. Optimus, graceful and reflexive as ever, spun around to grab your arm before you fell on your ass. You felt your body stop in mid-fall and he pulled you back up. The force of his pull made you stumble again, this time _towards_ him. You looked up at him as you regained your balance.

“Are you alright?”

“Fine.”

He stared at you for a few seconds to make sure you weren’t hurt due to your own stupidity, or so you believed. You looked away, to the sides, anywhere else than on him, and yanked your arm away, and stepped out of the way to continue walking.

You didn’t see the twinge of sadness in his eyes as you did. Had he done something wrong? Optimus asked himself in his mind.

You had entered the bathroom area for some reason, wanting to put some distance between you and the Prime to collect yourself before you did _another_ stupid, and before you was a closet door in between the men and women’s restrooms.

“Janitorial closet.” Read the faded white letters printed on a dark brown door.

You reached for the handle, and it was locked. Typical. Optimus assisted you with that, and literally just tore the entire handle off the door itself. He gazed at it for a second in his hand, looking almost sorry. You as always were fascinated by his strength. Optimus was kind of too big for the tiny doorway, so he had to duck on the way in, his shoulder plates and smokestacks hitting the door frame almost comically. On the back wall was a large cloth, it looked like a curtain or something, it was hanging from a metal rail towards the ceiling it was jet black, and strangely, looked almost new. You didn’t pay much attention to it and looked around. It’s not that unusual to see curtains covering a plain wall. You tripped over a stealthy dustpan on the floor and instinctively grabbed on the curtain to keep you from falling. You pulled too hard as you went down and yanked some of the cloth off the rings on the railing. You looked up.

When you walked in here, you were hoping for anything and nothing really, perhaps a towel, perhaps a container of alcohol, but what you found surprised both of you to say the least.

There, in the back of the small seemingly mundane 15 by 10-foot broom closet and behind the inconspicuous black curtain was a metal door. A big one, silver, thick, shiny, and _definitely_ out of place. Beside it was a security keypad that was on, lights glowing blue and red. It looked like a door to a vault in a spaceship or something. You and Optimus both looked at each other at the same time, with the same confused expression, bearing the same question without speaking a single word.

“So, uh...” you spoke up.

“I am not sure.” Optimus replied.

“Should we go inside?” you started.

“It may be dangerous. We do not know what is on the other side. I will proceed first.”

“Copy that.”

You both looked around the closet, flipped through cleaning logs, maintenance reports, opened boxes. No code or secret button to open the door was found.

“Maybe the code is in the security office. It _is_ a secured door after all” You started.

“Good idea, Y/N.”

You slightly blushed. You did not know why.

The two of you left the broom closet and made your way back once again to the main chamber. After looking at the directory on the wall, you found that the security office was in the radio station section of the building. Makes sense, its’ the area with communications and the most electronics. The one place you did not go into, was the place with your answers.

Problem is, the directory was just words, there was no map. Or at least, not anymore. It did not provide directions on how to reach the radio station. It provided directions for everything else _except_ the radio station.

Ominous.

“We have to do some exploring then.” Optimus spoke up.

You nodded.

“What if it’s in the diner?” you thought, not really paying attention too much to what you just said. It was only speculation. Optimus turned to face you.

“You will not go back in there.”

“But-“

“No, Y/N, I do not want you to be so upset again.”

“…”

He bends down to meet you at eye level, and places those large comforting hands on your shoulders again, but this time, it’s in a way that’s more intimate, you feel that he has less hesitation to touch you, and you can feel his fingers instinctively rub your skin under your clothing. It sends a shiver down your spine. He’s inches away from your face and looking directly into your weary eyes.

“Y/N, I did not want to say anything…but it tore my spark in half to see you so distraught back there. Do you understand? Now that we know this place may be unsafe, I will make sure you are okay. You are my priority.”

You choked out your reply “okay” as tears formed in the corners of your e/c eyes. No one had expressed that much care for you in a long while.

Optimus gave you a soft smile.

_‘Maybe it’s not impossible.’_

“Hey, can we go back to the store? I need more first aid stuff.”

“Of course.”

* * *

The store lit up in the same fluorescent lights when you hit the switch. You swear that humming got louder the longer you stayed here. You moved behind the counter though it’s little half door, with your backpack in hand as Optimus stood watch as usual. You looked back at him in reassurance. He gave you a nod.

Under the counter was more stock of the medical products that were on the shelves. At the end of the large counter on the left side, against a concrete wall was a large glass refrigerator door. The kind of refrigerator doors you see in retail, with the long handle you pull on to open it and that are stocked from behind. It was around maybe eight feet tall, and looked almost empty, but it was on and you could see some things in it. You actually _hadn’t_ seen it before, because it could only be seen from behind the counter, and this was the first time you had gone behind it. It was concealed from the customers by a large shelf and a support beam.

‘ _Weird. Why would you hide that from customers?’_ you thought. You worked retail before, you _knew_ that stocking and selling products in the coolers was a thing your boss had a stick in his ass about.

Your morbid curiosity pulled at your senses, and you decided to go investigate. You approached it, and bent down to peer in, the inside on the sixth shelf were a few semitransparent cylindrical containers of pink liquid labelled “Amoxicillin.” Amoxicillin is an antibiotic derived from penicillin.

 _‘You mean to tell me that you can buy antibiotics over the counter in Canada!?’_ you screamed on your head.

It was probably expired by now, but you looked inside regardless. Antibiotics can be safe for a while after expiration, and with the amount of damage your own body has gone through, it would certainly help kill off the infections in your wounds. Though this was a liquid suspension, which could lose potency sooner.

You had more caution and opened it slowly. Sure, it was a glass door you could see through, but last time you opened a random refrigerator you found something you did not want to find. It squeaked open. 

Oh.

The entire shelf was actually fake. It was mounted _onto_ the glass door, and once the door was open entirely, it revealed an open doorway space where the shelving racks _should_ be. It gave the illusion of a regular refrigerator when the door was closed. You poked your head inside, arm already pulling on the shotgun just in case. Inside was a large space that didn’t make any sense, it was like a walk-in closet with a hallway. At the end of the space was a concrete staircase leading upwards. Your hair stood up on your arms and neck. You backed out in a hurry and turned around to call to Optimus.

“Optimus?!” you said loudly.

You heard his metallic footsteps pace quickly as he was behind you in nanoseconds.

You moved aside and pointed. He did not hesitate. Optimus ducked down to step inside first, mask engaged and blaster already out. He looked very uneasy, and your own chest was tightening from the suspense.

This is wrong. Something is not right here.

Your intuition was also telling you to use your own weapon. You took the shotgun off the scabbard, pointed it away from you and loaded in 20-gauge shells one at a time until the tube was full. Optimus turned his head when he heard the clicks from the gun. He studied your movements carefully, but you did not notice as you were preoccupied in loading the weapon. You then moved the slide backwards and forwards to load the chamber. You peered up to meet his gaze. You gave him a nod that everything was alright, and he returned his attention on the staircase.

You could feel the tension in the environment. It felt as if something were about to happen. Optimus felt it too, judging by his alert state and careful movements. He climbed up the staircase, you closely behind him. The door at the top was closed, but not locked. He hesitated for a brief moment, before carefully pushing open the metal door. It creaked open and revealed yet again another small hallway that was maybe 40 feet long.

_‘This place and it’s fucking creepy hallways.’_

There were two doors. One was on the left side and was labelled “Security” the other was at the end of the hall and labelled “Radio station.”

“Guess we found the place alright.” You said, trying to lighten the mood.

Optimus did not respond.

“Don’t you have a bad feeling about this place Optimus?”

“I do. Please, stay quiet.”

Did Optimus Prime just tell you to shut up?

I mean naturally, in a situation like this you would remain silent. You did as he said.

He entered the security room, and some of the cameras were operational. The room itself was devoid of any life.

Optimus deactivated his weapon and closed the door. There was a broken fan on the main desk, a file cabinet with a dead plant on it, about five screens, four smaller ones surrounding a large central one. Below it was two keyboards and a few buttons on a control panel of sorts beside them. There was also a landline and a handheld two-way radio on the right. On the left side of the table was a stack of vanilla folders with lots of papers and an empty red bull can. There was a layer of dust covering everything, and the artificial light from the monitors highlighted them as they floated around the air like ashes.

You got closer to the monitors and examined each one, which was divided into four squares on the smaller ones. The center one was concentrated on the main chamber and the door. On the live feed was nothing out of ordinary, well, for this place at least. A few of the squares were just a solid blue with a white number in the top left corner, indicating that particular camera was offline. You backed up after finding nothing interesting on the screen.

The lights suddenly flickered off with a buzz, and back on again, and then off again, and then on again. The camera feed began glitching. You were spooked, Optimus grabbed you and pulled you close to his body and looked around to search for any threats.

It then went dark, and the emergency lights came on, bathing the entire room in a sinister red glow. The screens came on again after a few seconds. On the large center screen, was a white background, with the numbers “2501” displayed in black. The other screens were all black.

“Optimus?” you said, voice wavering.

“Stay close to me.”

“Is that the code?”

“I don’t know.”

Then, the lights came back on, and the camera feed returned to normal. You were still stuck to Optimus, breathing heavily.

“What the fuck just happened?”

“Let’s go.” 

“Wait, wait, what about the radio station?”

Optimus stopped and ex-vented.

“Fine, but quickly.”

Maybe he sensed something you didn’t.

He opened the radio station door. Inside was just about what every radio station would look like. Microphone stands, computers, receivers, transmitters, and other audio equipment. There was a long, narrow horizontal window going across the wall. It reminded you of a cockpit. The energy in here was a lot calmer.

You looked over the electronics and your brain’s gears clicked for once. You grabbed Optimus’s hand and shook him in excitement, causing him to raise an optic ridge at you. You felt his fingers enclose around your own smaller ones.

“Optimus, you think you could contact the other Autobots or, or-Fowler with this?!” you blabbered out.

He nodded at you in agreement. He also did not release your hand. You took note of that.

“I was thinking the same thing. Though there is the risk that the Decepticons will hear us.”

“Could you, encrypt it somehow?”

“I will try.”

Finally, some progress. Optimus _definitely_ had something tugging at his spark, as you watched him barricade the door handle with a chair. You figured Cybertronians were a lot keener to energy fluctuations and what not. You trusted him.

You thought about the number 2501. What did that mean? Also _why_ did that whole glitch even happen? _'D_ _id it even happen or was I hallucinating?'_

Why now? Maybe it's a sign...or a trap. 

You watched Optimus.

He messed around with the equipment as you sat beside him in one of the chairs. You moved it side to side and stared at him as he focused on his work. You found yourself staring maybe too much. Your eyes trailed along his frame. From the cables and machinery on his neck, to his large chest and windshields, shoulder plates, snatched waist, hips, down to his legs. You admired his biolights, and the small twitches and movements his body made unconsciously. You wondered how long he could remain mass-displaced too. You got used to seeing him hover only a few feet taller than you, and almost forgot he was actually a forty foot robot. Would that put strain on him after a while? Did it consume a lot of energy?

You noticed the manner in which his large hands moved with such steady skill; you don't mind having those hands on you at any time-

Your unholy thoughts were interrupted when heard radio static come through a nearby speaker, and your heart raced in anticipation. You got up and scurried to his side to listen in.

Static.

A noise that almost resembled a voice, one you could not decipher. Optimus tweaked some of the equipment.

More static.

“This is Darkmount command-"

The both of you leaned in.

"Lord Megatron has ordered the fusion canons to fire upon a city nearby. We are transmitting the coordinates, any Decepticon in the area must evacuate immediately. We will open fire in 15 klicks.”

Both your and Optimus’s eyes widened in horror.

“Copy that. This is captain of squadron 705, we are taking flight.”

More static interference. You felt sick to your stomach and your chest tightened again.

He turned a dial.

“-four seven one two, we have located Autobot activity. We detected one of their humans through his telecommunication device, he is travelling with the two-wheeler.” Said a voice through the speaker. 

“Arcee and Jack!” you gasped in a hushed tone.

Another voice spoke.

“I will dispatch a squadron to terminate the both of them.” Said a higher-pitched raspy one in response.

Now this is a voice you both recognized.

“Yes, commander Starscream.”

Then, it went as quiet as it was before. The silence was heavy in the freezing air.

Optimus looked heartbroken. He slowly closed his optics and ex-vented hardly. He could do nothing to help his team or the city that was about to get destroyed. How many others had Megatron used his canons on? You heard his engines rumble, almost in a cry of distress. He placed his head in his servo and kept his eyes closed.

Never had you witnessed him act like this. Even in the midst of a hard battle, amongst enemies and blaster fire, Optimus stood his ground like he was made of concrete. Nothing could bring him down. The drastic changes in the situation, the way he felt powerless, his emotions, everything was starting to get to him. 

If this is what he endured for four million years, you can't blame him. He may be the strongest, but even the strongest have moments of weakness.

You leaned into him, and attempted to hug his midsection, even though it caused your body to ache.

“...Optimus?”

He moved his arms around you and held you tight, like you were going to disappear if he dared to let go. Maybe he thought you would vanish, like so many he had lost before. Maybe you were his only source of hope in this moment. Maybe he was losing it.

He ex-vented deeply, and you closed your own eyes. Just as he comforted you and kept you safe, he also needed you.

“We will go home.” He said almost above a whisper.

“No more innocent lives will be taken. Megatron will be terminated. I vow this to you; this war will end here and now on this very world.”

You shuddered.

“We are leaving. Right now.”

He grabbed your hand before you could reply, and pulled you along quickly. Out of the radio station. Out of the refrigerator. Out of the store. Optimus headed straight towards the main front doors you had passed through when you arrived. Though you would not get to leave through those doors just yet.

Nothing could have prepared either of you for what happened next.


	4. Chapter 4: Separated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Thanks so much for the support I am literally blown away by how much you guys love this fic! I was actually unsure about posting this fanfic idea to begin with because I didn't know if y'all would be into it or not. Shit hits the fan forreal this time, reader is a little badass too, and I apologize ahead of time for the pain I'm about to put you through....hoooooooo boy especially at the end of this chapter :))))) Also lots of biology jargon bc I'm a biologist and I'm a little biased. This headass just ended up being TFP Resident Evil AU like [clown emoji].
> 
> *Dios mio means "my god" in Spanish
> 
> Had to do quite a bit of research for this chapter, it took me 2 whole ass days to write y'all. Enjoy~
> 
> ****TRIGGER WARNING: BLOOD, SLIGHT GORE, INJURIES, GUNS, WEAPONS, HEAVY GUN USE, SWEARING, WEIRD BIOLOGY, POLICE, SUPERNATURAL SPOOKY CREATURE TIME, LABS, UNETHICAL SCIENCE, TRAUMA, SEPARATION, PANIC ATTACKS****

You barely had time to react.

You honestly didn’t even know _how_.

You yelped and jerked backwards as you try to register what was happening in front of you.

A human?

 _No._ This was no human.

At least…not anymore.

It had a humanoid shape, but was a few feet taller than you, its body covered in an inky black skin, but the skin was almost rubbery and shiny, as if covered with a thin film of black glass, and was oozing an obsidian liquid that shimmered in the light. It was unnaturally thin with long limbs but appeared to possess some type of muscles. There were tendons running along it’s body that looked almost organically mechanical, they had a cable-like quality to them, and they glowed a deep but faint violet along the ridges. It had some type of blades or bone plates protruding from the back, going backwards at an angle, like a real fucked up peacock. Also a type of spinal cord armor that resembled metal scales. Its long slender fingers had even longer, sharp claws. A black misty energy swirled around like a sentient shadow as it moved around the room with supernatural speed. Its eyes glowed a sickening burnt yellow, and it opened its mouth to reveal sharp, predatory teeth and a black tentacle tongue.

It was just alien and threatening. It stopped moving and stood there, right in the doorway, blocking your escape and eyeing the both of you before the thing let out a screech so loud and piercing it made your ears ring and every hair on your body stand. It all happened in a few seconds.

Optimus was also taken aback, his optics widened, and he transformed his hand into his blade and engaged his mask once more.

It moved and moved so quickly; it was almost like it could teleport. It shifted again got closer to you, and you freaked out as it was about ten feet in front of you. Screaming and stumbling backwards, it lunged its’ arm at you before you could completely move out of its way, and it scratched your face right on your right cheek, and over your jawbone, down to your neck. You screamed as the cut stung and burned on your skin, and you felt hot blood seeping out. You heard Optimus shout.

“Y/N!”

His rapid footsteps rung through the chamber and then a struggle ensued. You lowered your head as you held your face in pain and groaned. Your hand stained itself with your blood.

It let out another screech, from a further distance this time.

You looked up and grabbed the shotgun off the scabbard, breathing heavily as your veins pumped with adrenaline and blood ran down your face and neck.

You saw Optimus trying to punch or slash the thing, but he couldn’t get in a single hit. Optimus was much larger, so he moved slower in comparison to the demonic creature. Optimus then transformed his other arm to his blaster and opened fire and managed to hit the creature’s left arm. Black flesh and dark blood from its wound, and it evaporated on contact with the ground.

“What the fuck!?” you kept repeating over and over as you stared in horror.

Your survival skills must have kicked in right then because you found yourself walking towards the encounter with a quick pace and with weapon in hand.

Optimus had the thing preoccupied for a minute. You took your chances and raised the shotgun’s barrel at level with its head as you got within fifteen feet of it and pulled the trigger.

A bright light was visible for a fraction of a second, and you heard an awful noise, a combination of a screech of agony mixed in with the sounds of your gun firing, and a grotesque squelching and crackling.

It still wasn’t down, but it appeared to weaken it, and it moved back and screeched louder this time.

You quickly reloaded and shot it again before it could reach you.

And again.

The shots echoed throughout the building as the rounds lit up the room. It took four shots to kill the damn thing. Its body parts vaporizing as they fell to the concrete below.

Optimus was about fifty feet away from you, and looking at you, optics wide, seeming almost impressed with your sudden act of valor and ferocity, and began making his way towards you. You looked at him while breathing heavily as he approached to attend to you.

“Are you alright?” he queried as he hovered over you.

“It attacked me.”

He cupped your face and examined your wound. What if it contaminated you somehow? He was really worried now. He tilted your head to the side to get a better look.

“Y/N, you did not have to endanger yourself like that. You are bleeding.”

“Didn’t really give me a choice, Optimus.”

“You could have been seriously hurt.”

“I can defend myself too, you know.”

He looked at you with an expression of equal parts astonishment and distress. He took a second to collect his thoughts.

“I am very aware of that now. Thank you for your assist.” He said as he lifted your chin with his fingers.

"Optimus, I want to go home. I'm scared." you said, fatigued and alarmed.

"I know." he said, and took your hands within his. He did something you thought he wouldn't. He brought your roughed up hands to his face and kissed them gently. The sensation of warm metal lips on your skin was novel, but inviting. Was this the supposedly emotionless Prime everyone knew? 

You felt your body burning up, from residual fear and something else you couldn’t articulate, but could only be described as a combination of dangerous exhilaration and passionate admiration. You didn't know what to do, except close your eyes and sigh.

Your little moment didn't last long.

Then you both heard another wailing, but from _outside_ the front door of the building, accompanied by the sound of something large making its way towards it. You could hear heavy steps in the snow outside.

“Fuck.” You said in a gasp.

“Move, now.” Optimus said and pushed you in the opposite direction. He kept his other hand with blaster pointed at the door just in case.

You heard another deathly cry from the hotel area.

Then another from the diner.

Then from the store.

Soon the hellish noises reverberated throughout the entire building, making you tremble and look around frantically. The only direction left to run, or hide, was the restroom area.

Optimus and you didn’t hesitate, you just moved. The screeches and clanking got closer. You started to run now, Optimus closely behind you. You skidded to a halt when you saw the lights in the restrooms flickering and what looked like a shadow casting on the tile wall.

You turned your head.

The closet.

You practically rammed the door open with your shoulder, which hurt, and Optimus ducked in quickly after you, closing it and pushing over a large shelf to barricade it.

You both ducked down, and he pushed you behind him. You reloaded the shotgun and pointed it at the door. Your backpack was also starting to put some strain on you, your lower back hurt. Your heart was pounding so hard you could feel it behind your eyes. You tried to steady your audible breaths and stop shaking. Intense fear was still clouding over you. Epinephrine was one hell of a drug.

You cracked your neck to look at the metal door behind the curtain, it was still closed. You remembered the numbers you saw flashing on the screens in the security office. You got an idea and went for it. You were still crouched as you did a weird crab walk towards the door.

“Y/N, what are you doing?” Optimus whispered.

You heard more noises outside and he focused his attention on the less impressive door you had come through. Approaching the keypad, you stood up somewhat and typed in 2501 into it, and after a second or two, it beeped, and you heard a series of clicks and hissing before the door slid open quickly.

Optimus almost snapped a neck cable by turning his own helm and peered in your direction, shoulder plates tensing and optics scanning every corner, already ready for another fight. Inside was…yet again, another hallway, well it was more of a grated platform. The ceiling and grey walls lit up with blue and white light panels turning on sequentially in the direction of a steel double door at the end, signaling for you to follow the lights. Under the walkway was a thick fog. No creatures, no threats, as far as you both could tell.

You heard the screeches right outside, and Optimus stood up and pushed you inside in a hurry.

The door behind you slid with a hiss, and locked, followed by another beep, lower pitched this time.

You faced Optimus as he ex-vented loudly.

“What the fuck just happened?”

“I am not sure I want to find out.”

You both approached the double doors, and realized they had no handles. The closer you got, they slid apart, activated by a motion sensor you could not see.

Oh, it’s an elevator. Of course. Everyone has elevators in their janitorial closet right. You both stepped inside, and the elevator closed. There was a touch screen panel on the side of entryway, with only had one button and it was a downward arrow. Only one way out. An automated female voice sounded from the ceiling, making the both of you jump.

“Descending to laboratory.” She said in an eerily friendly but uncanny tone.

You and Optimus looked at each other.

“Laboratory?” you said simultaneously.

The elevator began to move downwards, and after about ten seconds of tense intermission, it came to a halt and opened up on another floor.

No fucking way this was still the rest stop.

The area was far too vast for the upper building’s structure, this _had_ to be some secret underground research facility. Before you was a pale grey tile floor, and stark white walls. There were several secured doors cast throughout two side wings spanning from the main lobby, and an steel double door front and center with two small glass windows. The double doors slid into the wall and out, you know like supermarket doors, but it appeared to be stuck and propped open with a black plastic crate between the doors. Optimus and you carefully made your way towards it, checking down the side hallways for any more of those things, and he pushed the doors open to reveal a large laboratory.

Obviously, a biology lab, and a high tech one too. Scattered around the counters and floor were large incubators, various tanks of different sizes filled with colored liquid and with clear tubes running in all directions, centrifuges, fume hoods, sample freezers, microscopes, chemicals and liquids in bottles on the metal shelves above each lab bench, petri dishes, autoclaves, computer screens, cables, hazmat suits and lab coats hanging on the wall racks, respirators, biohazard containers and labels just about everywhere, denoted by their bright red appearance. There were other machines and equipment you didn’t recognize from your time working in the bio lab at your college. The whole nine yards.

The only thing missing were the scientists.

“By the Allspark, what were they doing here?” Optimus asked, scanning the area.

“I _really_ don’t want to find out, I just want to leave.”

You meant your words. Yes, sure, the survival horror video game you just stepped into was fascinating, and your inner morbidly curious nature was eager to explore, and blast creatures with your handy dandy shotgun with your robot kinda-boyfriend-its-complicated-guardian with you, but you were so overcome with exhaustion and pain, so afraid, so traumatized, so…everything.

Your mental forte was draining rapidly, and you wanted nothing more than to return to your modest little house on the outskirts of Jasper, in the scorching Nevada desert, into your cozy bedroom and collapse on your bed for several days, preferably alongside Optimus, and forget everything. This was some Resident Evil shit, and you did not want to be Jill Valentine right now.

But naturally that wasn’t an option right now.

You ventured into the lab, looking at everything on the benches. You looked at the tubes and vials on a nearby lab bench, one was still placed on an agitator, swirling the dark red liquid around inside a glass vial the size of a shot glass with a blue top covering it. The white label on the side read:

“ _Vivamus umbra._ VU-001. Neurogenic progenitor cells.”

Umbra meant shadow in Latin, and you knew that progenitor cells meant stem cells which cause regeneration and wound healing. You scrunched your eyebrows and began thinking about what species this came from, and what kind of unethical research they were doing here.

“Umbra…shadow…could it be from those creatures?” you thought aloud.

Optimus was next to you about ten feet away, looking around obsessively. You also saw a tube rack and well plate nearby, containing more vials, all sealed and a micropipette was sitting beside it. A thumb drive was placed into a computer next to the samples. You decided to take it and shoved it in your jacket pocket. Whatever this was, you had to show the rest of the world. You had an instinctual feeling deep within your gut that whatever experiments that are being conducted here aren’t right. Hopefully the men in black wouldn't show up at your doorstep when you did.

Optimus stopped moving when he heard a sound behind you, and he turned to engage whatever was coming at you, he was ready to kill someone by the way he moved into a fighting stance so quickly.

There was nothing.

He ex-vented quietly. You don’t think you’ve ever heard him breathe so much before. Maybe you were both being paranoid. 

“Let’s keep moving.” He instructed you, and you followed him deeper into the lab.

You came to a door that slid open at your movements as you passed it. Above the entrance was a light panel that flashed a bright green and it beeped when it opened. Inside was a small room, covered wall to wall with metal plating, and with nozzles protruding from them. Another door was on the back wall. There was a small but thick one-way window on the left side that reflected back, and vents in the floor and ceiling. You looked at the sign on the wall next to the door.

“Decontamination chamber.”

Oh fuck.

You heard footsteps and a click behind you and you both spun around very fast, ready for and fearing another confrontation. Before you was a police officer, or whatever the Canadian equivalent was. The officer was male, thin with an average build, broad shoulders, with sleek raven hair pulled back into a ponytail, and medium tan skin. He was maybe in his late thirties or early forties. He was wearing a dark blue, almost black shirt that had patches on the long sleeves, with a black bulletproof vest over it that read POLICE, black pants with a yellow stripe on the seams and black boots. He was holding a silver pistol at the both of you, and motionless. He had a very serious concentrated look on his face, his thick eyebrows formed a slight V, but his dark eyes hid fear in them.

Optimus froze.

“What are you?” he said in a no-nonsense voice, pointing his gun at Optimus.

Optimus put his hands up slowly and spoke with diligence.

“We are not a threat officer.”

“I asked you what _are_ you? You’re a robot?” he inquired. He had a scruffy low-pitched voice. The type of voice you’d get after drinking a glass of whiskey.

Optimus hesitated to reveal his true nature, but you guessed he decided not telling him the entire truth was the best course of action, even though you knew he was opposed to it.

“I am a sentient robotic organism. Please, sir, we mean you no harm.” Optimus said politely, but with a subtle hint of agitation. He kept his arms raised. As if mere human bullets could even scratch Optimus Prime, but he played into it to gain the officers’ trust.

The officer then looked at you, and saw the worry in your eyes and your battered form.

“What are you doing here?” he asked you, harshness lessening.

“We’ve been lost in the wilderness for the past few days, and we stumbled upon the rest stop. We’re running from those things out there. Surely you’ve seen them.” You replied with more confidence than you thought you’d have, but voice still wavering somewhat. Optimus didn’t move.

He looked at you and Optimus meticulously, then lowered his weapon, and ran a hand through his strands of hair that hung over his face. You noticed there was dried blood on his neck, and he had some scratches and a bruise on his face, you were in worse shape than he was.

“I have seen them. I’m sorry. I’m just, on edge.”

“We understand.” Optimus said.

He looked up at Optimus, then at you.

“Why are you travelling with a robot?”

“He’s…my good friend, and kind of my bodyguard.”

The officer raised a thick eyebrow. He had dark half-circles under his eyes and looked as if he hadn’t slept in eons. He sighed.

“My name is officer Martin Reyes. You?”

“I’m Y/N.” you said, still not moving.

Officer Reyes looked at Optimus.

“You?”

“Optimus Prime.”

“What the hell kinda name is that?” Reyes asked, still suspicious of him.

“It’s _his_ name, Officer Reyes.” You interjected.

“Just Reyes is fine.”

He started again.

“I’ve been fighting off those things for days. I lost sight of my partner, Ethan Hidalgo, have you seen him by any chance?” he said, expression turning somber.

You remembered the scene from the meat freezer in the diner. The images of blood and the policeman’s gun shining in the lights flashing in your mind’s eye made you shiver. You were unsure of how or what to tell him.

“We haven’t seen anyone else here.” You replied.

“Me neither, since we got separated after the initial attack.”

“Do you know what those creatures are? Or what created them?” Optimus asked. Reyes sat down on a stool nearby. He was obviously hurt, he absentmindedly reached for his side.

“Beats me. We were dispatched out here to find a missing person, last seen in the area. We figured they came here for shelter, but _Dios mio_ , we weren’t prepared for this shit.”

“They’re out there…in the rest area, lots of them. That’s why we ran in here to begin with.” You explained.

He seemed scared.

Your brain clicked. You squinted at him.

“Wait a second, the front door was locked, how did you guys get in here?”

He stayed silent and he looked on the floor with wide eyes as he searched his memories. He slowly shook his head.

“What are you talking about? The front door was wide open when we arrived.”

_What._

“We found the main entrance chained and locked. The interior of the building was untouched.” Optimus said, getting concerned. He took a step in the officer’s direction and Reyes flinched for a fraction of a second.

“Then whatever’s here doesn’t want us to leave.” Reyes replied.

“We should move then.”

* * *

The three of you decided to move further into the facility. Reyes was just as lost as you and Optimus were. You found out he had been knocked out by an unseen force and had just woken up earlier today. He tried to leave but was chased by the creatures into the wilderness, and he also had just found the lab, from a different entrance though. Get this: he found a stairwell that opened up in a small cliff face nearby. You gave Reyes some water, food, and tablets for his pain. He was eternally thankful.

“Where are you coming from?” he asked as the three of you walked down.

“The United States.” Optimus said

“Where?”

“Nevada.”

“How the fuck did you wind up here?”

“We actually have no idea. We just…woke up and we were…in the Yukon.” You lied to him. You figured telling him randomly waking up in the arctic was easier explained than telling him you traveled here via a literal wormhole that your alien robot friends created after some bad guy alien robots blew up their top secret alien robot base in a missile silo deep in the Nevada desert.

“What?”

“We were separated from our teammates, and we have the exact same question.” Optimus said, not wanting to push the conversation in that direction any further.

He's had enough excitement for one day.

You ventured down a side corridor from the lab and entered another room. A large server room. The colors in here were darker. Dark grey, and floor to ceiling with rows of large black and blue supercomputers humming quietly and flashing all types of lights supported by metal beams and framework. The computers were behind panels of frosted glass that emitted a deep blue glow. Thick cables and shafts ran along the walls and ceiling. There was another door at the far end with a red light above it. If you had to walk through one more suspicious door you swear you were going to curse someone.

“Do you know why this place is located beneath a rest stop?” Optimus asked Reyes.

“No, but I can tell you one thing. People always go missing around here, vanish without a trace. I’m starting to realize why.”

That made you uneasy. Were the creatures actually people? Did they do something to them to make them into those monstrosities? That made you sick to your stomach to think about. Hopefully, you were wrong.

You were a few feet from the back door when you metal clanking and quick footsteps again from the corridor. Through the entry to the server room came in six different creatures. Some were taller than others, and some had different appearances and morphology. One of them had four arms.

“Y/N, run!” Optimus yelled.

“No.” you said, defying him and reloading the shotgun.

Your breathing picked up as you swallowed the lump in your throat as they approached. Reyes already had begun opening fire, but his pistol didn’t do that much damage, if any. Optimus followed closely. This time he was able to hit them and take a few down. One of them managed to hit Optimus in the face and make him stumble back for a moment, which surprised you.

Reyes shot one of them in the head as it climbed on top of a supercomputer and tried to jump on him. He shot it in mid jump, and it screeched and fell to the ground. Reyes ran to the right side, dodging one’s attack and Optimus shot that one right away, causing it to fly into the wall and growl. You saw the four-armed one approaching Reyes from his side, and you ran in his direction.

“Reyes, move!” you screamed. He instinctively ducked and rolled to his left, and you shot the creature several times, causing it to explode and evaporate in front of him.

“Thanks.” Reyes said, breaths heavy and retreating close to you and Optimus. It was quiet now.

“Y/N is a helpful partner.” Optimus said.

“I can tell. Any more?” Reyes spoke.

“No.” 

You left the server room and proceeded down a metal staircase that led to a small warehouse floor. It was deathly cold in here, and it wasn’t a wintry cold either. It made you shiver again. The area had a high ceiling, with more artificial light tubes running in different directions. It was filled with catwalks, raised platforms, crates, shipping containers, biohazard containers, and cases. Not easy to walk, or run, across without having to parkour. Not that your body could afford to do that right now.

You could see the orange cargo gate at the opposite side of the warehouse.

“Should we make a run for it?”

“I will go to the upper level to keep watch and provide cover. The two of you should stay below, out of sight.” Optimus declared without a second thought. Always the leader willing to put himself in danger for others. 

Your stomach sank at the thought of having to separate from Optimus. You didn’t want him to leave you, and you hesitated to be left alone with Reyes for a moment. Sure, he was a trained police officer and seemed like a decent guy, but he was no Optimus Prime, and couldn’t protect you like Optimus could. Just admit it, you had grown too attached to the Prime.

You and Reyes nodded at him and began making your way towards the exit, ducking behind crates, crawling under railings, and peering over corners. You tried to be as quiet as possible and stayed low to avoid attracting attention from the creatures. You and Reyes had to vault and climb over some low railings and stacks of boxes though. You honestly thought your body could not be in any more pain, every time you climbed, or jumped, your legs and arms ached so badly, despite having a large dose of acetaminophen in your blood right now. The twenty or thirty something extra pounds on your back didn’t help either, it only put strain on your back and shoulders, and made your landings harder on your legs.

You had to stop for a few seconds to regain your strength and catch your breath, you knew you were weak from all your misadventures. You glanced up and saw Optimus treading carefully on the catwalk, blasters pointed down in both directions.

You and Reyes found a large green box that was latched, but slightly open, and read “Umbra defensive weapon: The Equalizer. Electromagnetic Burst Rounds. Class EBR-524. Authorized for combat.”

_'Energy weapons against the creatures?'_

Reyes opened it further, and you found this weapon inside. One of a much higher caliber, and that was definitely not one you can buy commercially. It looked high tech, and almost science fiction like. You picked up it up, a carbine looking thing that was a shiny black and silver with a short barrel that was narrow but long vertically. It had a long grip, glowing red lights running across the body, and a scope. You put it back down. This thing looked very dangerous, maybe you’d come back for it if you needed it.

“You figure they’d need these kinds of guns for these kinds of demons, huh.” Reyes said.

He moved further down the row of crates. You watched him, looking behind and above you.

Reyes signaled at you that the coast was clear ahead and you silently crouch walked towards the direction he was in. The cargo gate was behind a literal wall of shipping crates, blockading your path. You searched around and a few meters behind you was a ladder leading up to a catwalk that ran along the wall led to the other side of it.

Reyes went first, and you followed closely behind. He reached the top and nodded at you, helping you up with his hand. You turned around to spot Optimus closer to the way you came in, blaster pointed at something you couldn’t see, and focused. Your heart skipped a beat as you thought about him disappearing.

You walked towards the gate but sideways, so you could keep your eye on Optimus. You weren’t certain if he could be as strong and hard to defeat in his mass-displaced form compared to his normal size. All this fighting and running _had_ to be depleting his energon reserves, and you feared he was running on fumes at this point. One more fight may just bring him down.

You didn't want to think about that. 

You heard Reyes drop to the other side and make his way to the gate. You then suddenly heard Optimus opening fire in the distance, making your heart pound. He fired several times below him, you kept your gaze locked on him as he continued. Metallic squeaking then hit your eardrums and you turned and saw Reyes had begun to pull on the chain by the gate, causing it to rise slowly with every pull he made. Snow filtered through the crack underneath the bottom of the gate, and you finally saw some natural light, albeit dull. Reyes pulled the gate up about four feet or so, before his arms gave out. He let go with a groan and exhaled. The gate stayed open and he bent down to catch his breath. You looked at Optimus again and yelled out to him that you were ready to finally leave.

“Optimus! Let’s go!”

His helm moved in the direction of your voice, and as he was about to run towards you, you saw a large, shadowy arm grab onto his lower leg, and yank on him. This arm was larger than any of the ones you’ve seen on the previous creatures. You heard him hit the metal catwalk with a loud thud, he grabbed onto the railing and shot once, but missed, and he was pulled down below the catwalk, out of your line of sight. You then heard him yell, more blaster fire, and noises of struggle. 

“Optimus!” you shrieked, bloodcurdlingly louder than you ever have before. You held your breath and sprinted.

“Y/N! Wait! Don’t!” you heard Reyes scream behind you.

You ignored him.

You kept running, lightheaded and blood rushing. Your legs moved fast despite the pain. You had to find him. You had to help him. He was all you had. Please, God, Primus, whatever, let him be okay. You arrived at the edge of the catwalk, and he wasn’t there, but the site where he was pulled down to had bright blue liquid spilled on the ground, and it was slightly glowing.

Energon.

You felt the onset of a panic attack and you threw off your backpack down and shoved all the shotgun shells you had into your jackets pockets and loaded more into your weapon. You left the backpack there to give you the ability to move faster. You were crying now, hot tears streaming down your face. You wiped them with your torn up sleeve to clear your vision and frantically ran around, looking for any sign of Optimus.

“Optimus!?” you screamed over and over as you sprinted along the catwalks.

He was nowhere to be found. Your breathing became erratic, and you couldn’t control your trembling.

_Please, please, please-where is he!? Where is he! God, please!_

You heard Reyes continue calling out your name from the gate.

“Y/N! What happened!?”

“Optimus! He’s gone! It took him!” you shouted back in desperation.

“We have to go! We’ll come back for him, you’re not safe here! I’ll call for backup, the police station is only 5 kilometers away! I need to get to my car!”

“I’m not leaving him behind! You go ahead!”

“What?! No, come on!”

“Go!” you said, before jumping down to the ground floor, gun pointed in front of you. Your tears kept flowing, anxiety at an all-time high, and you began running back where you had entered. You kept calling out Optimus's name, hoping for any sort of response.

Nothing.

All you heard was your heartbeat and your footsteps. You knocked over boxes. You don’t know where you were materializing the energy to do so right now. You climbed back up the catwalk to take another look around. Optimus was nowhere to be found. Shaking your head, you let out a half sob, half scream of agony, crying so hard you couldn’t see. You ran back to the gate and saw that Reyes had actually left. You ducked under and saw his footprints visible in the snow.

You decided not to pursue him. He will call for backup, just like he said, right?

You don’t know what to think. You can’t think. You just want Optimus back. 

You pushed a box underneath the gate to keep it open, trying not to collapse on the ground. Your panic attack was still strong, about to reach its peak. You had to gasp for air, as it felt like there was none left in your lungs. You were angry, terrified, and now you were alone. Your vision was distorted, and you slid down, back against the wall next to the gate and cried for minutes that seemed like centuries. Your chest hurt, it felt like your heart had be ripped in half. Your head drooped as if you were going to faint because you couldn't breathe. Your thoughts kept focusing on three things: Get up, stay alive and go back for Optimus. 

After a few minutes of the most awful emotions you've ever experienced, you stood up. 

You were petrified. You don't know how you were able to walk. You breathed deeply, trying to bring yourself back to reality.

You found and grabbed your backpack, drank some water and went back for the mystery weapon in the green box.

You were going to find him, and you were both going home.


	5. Chapter 5: Halcyon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support as usual! Your comments and kudos is SEROTONIN MACHINE for me I love y'all. Also :) uh :) have fun :) reading this one :) I promise it gets so much better after this you have to hit rock bottom first tho. 
> 
> ***Trigger warning: Injury, gun and weapon usage, violence, panic attacks, unethical science, experimentation, crimes against humanity, medical procedures, needles, DEATH, survivor's guilt, emotional PAIN***

You ran so with such haste; you could no longer feel your legs.

Dread coursed through your veins and seeped through your bones like a malicious drug.

You tore through the labyrinth of crates and platforms in the warehouse, burned through the grid of supercomputers in the server room, sped down the paths in the lab, knocking over everything in your way, ramming open every door you found and shoving away boxes.

With every empty space you found, your heart sank deeper into an abyss of terror. No way you could be alone. You couldn’t fathom leaving without him, especially now. You were not going to abandon him, even if it threatened your life.

As you sprinted, your mind flashed images of a harrowing future without Optimus. Without his grand but gentle presence beside you, devoid and cold. This was not the future you wanted.

The weapon you pulled from the ominous green box was heavy in your arms, but the thought of losing Optimus was weighing you down more. He was all you had.

You skidded to a halt, needing to rest for a second before continuing. You had receded back to the lobby of the lab, where the elevator doors led upwards. Leaning your body weight against a wall, you caught your breath. You were still crying; your tears had not ceased since you witnessed your guardian being dragged from your sight. They probably left a trail at this point. You wiped them with the tattered cloth on your forearm, eyes already aching and puffing up.

You inhaled deeply for a few seconds, trying to still your tumultuous state.

Your ears registered the ringing of the elevator chime, announcing it had reached your floor. You stood up immediately, making your spine crack, and stared ahead for what seemed like the tensest five seconds of your life. Your senses on edge. The doors slid open, and a black void was inside the lift. You pointed the weapon at the door, not hesitating a single second, though your line of fire swayed with your anxious trembling and unstable breaths.

The overhead lights inside the elevator flickered and revealed another one of those creatures. The _umbra_ as you have decided to refer to them. This one had a more animalistic appearance, its appearance an unholy hybrid of human and canine, but disturbed. It stood there for a second, glowing yellow eyes fixated on you like a panther stalking its prey in the depths of uncharted jungle. You stared back, albeit terrified.

It leaped towards you, covering fifty feet or so in a fraction of a second.

You pulled the trigger on your new weapon, unsure if it would fire or not. You didn’t actually know how to use it. You just hoped God, or Primus or whatever was real, and they had your back.

It fired.

But damn, did the thing _fire._

A bright cyan blast came out of the barrel, accompanied by a loud noise that had an electrical quality to it. The recoil was intense, it jolted and knocked you back quite a bit, you had to steady yourself before you would plunge backwards to the floor.

The blast hit the umbra’s midsection and consumed it in electric charges that resembled lightning. It let out a deafening shriek before hitting the ground, a visible hole had burned through its onyx flesh at the area of impact, glowing orange around the edges of the circle and smoking. Its corpse hit the ground with a loud thud, before its body mass dissipated into the air with a black mist.

“Just one shot takes them down, huh?” you thought aloud. 

After examining the gun for a few minutes, you figured out how to reload it, it was actually similar to reloading a shotgun. Slide and lock. It hissed when it reloaded too. Guess the scientists down here knew exactly what they were in for. Still, even with such powerful weapons, why did they vanish? What happened to them? And what will happen to Optimus?

You didn’t know whether to go back up to the rest stop. You were obviously outnumbered. Even with The Equalizer, as its creator deemed it, you were no John Wick. There was no way you could stop all of them, they would know you would be coming back from the elevator. The creatures were intelligent it seemed.

You remembered Reyes telling you about the stairwell he stumbled upon on the cliffside nearby. Perhaps you could exit through there, and pluck them off one by one, gain the upper hand by having more space to maneuver and hide. You decided that was your most prudent course of action.

You also started to regret leaving Reyes and running off in your fit of emotional upheaval. Separating yourselves would make you easier targets, the creatures would surely hunt you down, and after seeing what happened to his partner, you mentally slapped yourself. Maybe his backup would arrive, however long that would take. If he even managed to call for backup, if he even made it to his car, if his radio even still worked. 

If you couldn’t make any more progress, you’d go back for Reyes. You were too far away from him now.

You shuddered as you sighed.

Optimus wouldn’t allow either of you to be hurt or killed, right? _Especially_ you. He would show up to save the day at the last minute, right? He always does.

Now that Reyes wasn’t with you, you couldn’t ask him how to get to the said stairwell, or where to even look for them. You walked back into the lab, and started walking only alongside the walls, hoping you’d encounter a door that led elsewhere.

Optimus had to be fine? He’s dealt with so much worse. He fucking fought _Unicron_ and came back alright. Some bastard shadow creatures won’t do anything to him.

Right?

Your thoughts betrayed you.

He’s probably still mass displaced, weakened by days of burning through energon reserves, and fighting for his and your life. You became unsure, and if there’s a single thing you despised more than being left behind, is being left behind and not knowing what the future held for you.

Would he even be in this mess if it weren’t for you? He wouldn’t have been so far away from his teammates. He would have set the coordinates closer because he knew better.

 _You_ were the one who opened the groundbridge when the base was attacked.

 _You_ were the one who yelled at him to go through it.

 _You_ were the one he had to guard with his life.

 _You_ were the one who he decided to befriend, to care for, and to bond with.

…

 _You_ were the one who fell in love with him.

You paused.

_Wait._

The decontamination chamber.

The one you didn’t get to venture into because Reyes was holding a gun at you and Optimus.

“Fuck!” you said to yourself, more like yelled at yourself, agonizing over how you could have overlooked that particular detail. You had just wasted precious time wandering around like an idiot.

You made your way towards those double doors, cursing in every language you knew. They remained open, as if you had just been there a few minutes ago. You trudged inside. You looked at the one-way glass to your left, wondering if anyone was home behind that pane, silently watching your struggle from the shadows. You looked terrible, your hair was askew, cheeks reddened from crying, eyes bloodshot. You continued to gaze at your broken reflection, contemplating if everything that had occurred within the past week or so was even reality.

You heard a loud alarm noise go off twice, and then an even louder hissing noise, which made you jump in your skin. The chamber was then filled with a fine white mist that smelled like rubbing alcohol and sweet metal. It lightly coated you from head to toe, it was cooling, and then you saw a grid of deep violet light beams traverse through the air and across your body. They looked like blacklight lasers of some sort, they felt like sunlight hitting your skin on a summer afternoon, but strangely hotter, it tingled for a second and then disappeared. The mist evaporated and the other side opened up with a more pleasant beep, followed by a green light flashing on the wall next to you. Green for go.

This area was even _more perplexing._

The corridor itself was massive, much like that of a hangar. The walls and ceiling were covered in metal framework and machinery. It was dark in here, with few ambient lights scattered about. On each side of the space were large pods that looked like the could house people inside, but the subjects, whatever they were, were missing. Each pod leaned back at an angle, not completely upright but not lying down either. Each one had a clear glass-like covering, but on top were tubes, cables, and metal lining. They also had a small screen next to the top of them, and what looked like heart monitors and IV pumps.

Some pods were broken, looking like something broke out, and many were leaking a diaphanous yellow fluid. You ducked behind a vacant pod and peered around scanning the space for any movements. You were really on edge now; you felt your hair standing on your neck.

You walked as lightly as you could, hiding behind pods after sneaking around. You moved around the room in intervals of a few seconds to avoid detection. Detection from exactly _what_ , was unknown.

You began to wonder if there was _anyone_ here besides you, Optimus and Reyes.

You seemed alone on the surface but certainly did not feel alone.

When you reached the center of the rows of pods, you noticed an emergency exit towards the back near the left corner. You moved in that direction, still quiet, but a bit quicker this time. You did not want to spend a fraction of second longer in this place than you had to. You squatted behind an empty pod to ensure you were safe, when you noticed that a couple of the pods actually had names on the screens. The one that was next to the one you were using as cover was shattered and had its screen on. The display read:

“Hidalgo, Ethan Male, 39. Umbra infection status: Stage II.”

Your heart skipped a beat as in plummeted into your ass. 

Reyes’ partner.

You put two and two together.

The umbra, well at least apparently some of them, used to be _human_.

You stared at the floor and blinked rapidly with your eyes wide open as you tried to rationalize what was happening. You hated that you were right all along. You wondered if you, Reyes or Optimus had shot and killed Ethan, or whatever became of him.

Could they recognize people they knew? Did they have any idea what they were?

Now you really had to get the hell out of here.

You creeped towards the exit and squeaked the door open. Once you were inside, you stood up straight. You sighed in much anticipated relief. You found it, this was the stairwell, and ascending it was a white metal door with a glowing red exit sign above it. You sprinted up, legs working overtime and still aching. You reached the end and caught your breath as you pushed the heavy door open, and felt the icy breeze smack your face. You were never so thankful to see daylight.

Holy shit.

It had actually stopped snowing.

You looked up, the vast arctic sky above was still grey, but some of the clouds were parting. A sudden gust of wind blew, furthering the divide in the heavens, and a ray of actual sun came down upon you like a spotlight. It was brighter than you had previously seen it, it was glowing a pale yellow now instead of a dim white dot. A ray hit your face, and you felt a small twinge of hope surge in your chest.

You shook your head. Now it not the time to philosophize.

You wished you had actually put on the hiking boots you left behind, because there was a large pile of fresh snow covering the landscape. Every step you took sunk your foot deep into it. Ahead of you were endless evergreen trees, but you could see the rest area in the distance, the radio tower gleaming in the arctic sunlight.

You walked slowly, not wanting to trigger any sudden movements of snow, or fall into a hidden crevice you couldn’t see. You walked through trees, in some areas having to part through the branches with your arms, making needles stick to your clothes and hair, and dusting you with snow. You had trekked for a few minutes and noticed some of the snow appeared to be disturbed, like something bore through it.

Your heart raced for a second. You couldn’t tell what made the disruption, but you hoped for the best.

Approaching the building, you stopped when a glint of red metal caught your eye from your periphery. It was several meters away, mostly obscured behind some trees, but it reflected the creeping light from above. You started to run, or tried to, though the heavy snow. As you got closer, you realized what it was. 

It was Optimus. He was lying in the snow, face up, and motionless.

You screamed his name several times, you were already panicking before you even reached him.

You swear your body had never gone into maximum overdrive before, but it did now. You blasted through the snow like a plow and were next to his side in an instant. He was still mass displaced, as you suspected, but you could see a small amount of energon leaking from his chassis, underneath his windshield plates, spilling onto the frozen ground below. You threw your weapons aside and kneeled beside him.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck-“ you whispered exasperatedly as you tried to shake him awake. His frame was warm, but still.

“Optimus!”

“ _Optimus_!”

You were getting desperate, as he did not move.

You placed your hands on his face and stared, continuing to repeat his name, as you began crying again. You shook him afterwards again and again.

He did not budge.

“Please…don’t leave me. I love you, please wake up.”

Still no response.

He wasn’t going to wake up.

You placed your head and arms on his chest, crying harder than you had previously. You tried to hear if his spark was beating, but you couldn’t tell, you were dazed, and frightened. You had to ask yourself _why_.

Why did it have to end like this.

You felt guilty. If you weren’t with him right now, he wouldn’t have had to stop and enter the rest stop to begin with, he could have kept driving. Your own human fragility drove him here. You were going to be partially responsible for his death, and no one would forgive you, not even yourself. Your heart ached as it shattered and you sobbed, borderline screaming, with such agony it would rival the souls of the damned. The horrific realization dawning and slamming into your mind without pause. You couldn’t breathe. Your lungs filled with despair as you shut your eyes and cried into him.

You couldn’t bear to live with this reality. It was overwhelming, it was all too much.

“Optimus…” you cried out quietly with your last vital breath, surrendering to the darkness that was encroaching in the corners of your vision. You couldn’t feel you head, or your legs, or your arms. Then you fell limp, halfway collapsing into the snow, still clinging desperately to the Prime's form, as everything faded into an oblivion of black.

_____

Though your body walked on a mirror’s edge, you retained enough conscious to dream.

You found yourself wading through an ocean, an endless, but shallow one. The warm water was serene, gentle ripples pulsing from the movement of your legs. The arcane sea reached your knees, and glistened a vibrant, lush violet that reminded you of amethyst. The heavens above were delicately painted with glowing rose clouds, illuminated by a sky made of fire as the gilded sun teased the distant horizon. They moved in patterns akin to pouring milk in a cup of tea as if they were breathing with you.

A midsummer breeze cradled your s/c skin, and it gave you the sensation of being home in a memory, nostalgic, comforting, but simultaneously uneasy, a façade made from neural impulses. You felt as if you waded through the waters of an alien planet, where you were the only inhabitant.

You wondered if you had died alongside Optimus. Was this the afterlife? And if so, where is he? Not even death would allow you to be together.

You continued walking through the expanse as the sun dipped further behind the divide of sea and sky, bearing farewell.

The amethyst water turned to obsidian, as the sky deepened to rich indigo. A full moon rose above, bathing you in silver moonlight.

You stopped when you heard subtle splashing behind you. You turned slowly, with no rush.

Before you stood Optimus.

You only stared at him, defeated and sorrowed. He approached you, not saying anything. He blinked steadily, expression obscured by the nightfall, only his optics were visible, rivaling the moon’s own aura. He stood a foot in front of you, looking down, fixated on you. You remained still and acknowledged him.

“I know you aren’t real.”

No reply. He cupped your face, and looked you directly in the eyes, with a look so neutrally serious it could kill you.

“I need you to wake up.”

“What?”

“Wake up, Y/N.”

Everything around you disappeared and returned to the same blackness that enveloped you as you lost consciousness. The black however, was becoming lighter, and lighter.

Then you saw grey. It gradually became brighter.

You creaked your eyes open, eyelashes stuck together because they had been frosted shut, and you could see a miscellany of various colors before you. You could make out absolutely zero detail of what comprised them, just an array of, grey, black, white, colors you had seen for days…but bright red? And ocean blue? 

Then you registered several voices that did not belong to anyone you knew after the high-pitched ringing in your ears ceased. They spoke English, a few were deeper than others, but they were farther away, but appeared to be approaching.

“Wake up.” You heard the same voice Optimus used in your dreamscape. That triggered you to open your eyes further. Everything was still blurred; it was like gazing at the world through frosted glass. 

“Y/N, you’re okay. Help is coming.” You heard Optimus speak to you softly.

He’s alive.

He’s alive.

He’s alive.

That repeated in your rebooting subconscious like a mantra.

You could barely see still, but you knew he was there, by making out his color scheme and general outline through your disorientation. You felt him take ahold of your right arm, and bring a hand up to his face, as he kissed it in reassurance. He then moved out of the way, still in your field of view but back a few feet.

Two vague figures filled your sight, humanlike figures that is. One was very dark skinned and wearing a dark color that looked black, and held a bright light to your face, you squinted in pain. The other was pale skinned and had on the same color as the other. On their long sleeves you could see yellow lines and what appeared to be patches.

“She’s breathing and responsive.” Said the darker skinned one with a feminine voice.

“Let’s move her.” She said again, and the other figure obliged.

You felt your body being lifted, and placed on something underneath, and then saw that you were being carried somewhere behind you. Optimus followed, never leaving your sight. You were placed inside something that had lights on inside, it had two doors that you passed through.

It clicked.

These were paramedics. You were inside an ambulance. Reyes called for backup. Optimus was alive.

You sighed in relief and swallowed the dry lump in your throat.

The ambulance was warmer inside, and you felt your coat and shirt being removed.

“She’s got several superficial injuries and a hematoma on the ribs. Lesion on the left shoulder looks infected.” The female paramedic said as she moved around, gathering something.

The male paramedic wrapped something around your right arm and you felt it tighten. He was taking your blood pressure. The female paramedic wiped areas of your body with a bitter smelling liquid, it was cold, but it burned your wounds, making you flinch a little as she worked. You felt the blood pressure strap tighten further, making your arm pressurize. It was uncomfortable because your arm already hurt before that. It released and beeped.

“Blood pressure sixty-eight over fifty-four. Pulse is fifty-two. It’s low.”

“Push dose IV epinephrine.”

You heard the male paramedic move and in your periphery you could see a stand of some sort, and then felt a needle in your arm. It pricked your skin and you felt something surge through your veins instantly, gradually breathing life back into you as you began regaining alertness and you felt your heartbeat pick up its pace.

Your vision was also becoming sharper, slowly, but you could now distinguish more detail of your surroundings. The female paramedic leaned over you and examined parts of you as her eyes moved about.

“She’ll need further exams she needs to go to the ER. Reed, you drive.”

“What about the robot? Do we just _take him_ with us?” you heard the male paramedic, which you assumed was Reed, ask. The female paramedic looked dead serious at Reed and pointed behind her.

“Reyes says he trusts him with his life, and I trust his word. Him and Chief Holt will be following us.”

So, Reyes was coming too. He probably told them everything.

“Kiara-“

“Just do it.”

Reed turned towards the entrance of the ambulance and call out to someone.

“Hey, you! Get in.”

You heard clanking noises and saw Optimus climb inside and kneel down in the corner, though he had to duck down to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling. You wondered why he didn’t just transform and follow the ambulance, as you thought it would be easier? Maybe Optimus was trying to avoid revealing himself too much or didn’t have the energy to drive anymore. You figure these humans probably wouldn’t trust him as much if he were actually forty feet tall and suddenly turned into a truck. Clever.

You thought about how Agent Fowler was going to deal with this. These people weren't even American, outside his jurisdiction. You could already hear him complaining about Prime interacting with humans again, and using those patriotic expressions that made you chuckle. You wondered if the team could return to those less difficult times after this.

You heard the doors slam, the ambulance’s engines start up and the sirens blast. You wondered how the hell they got this thing through all that snow to begin with, they must be some damn good drivers. You were still dizzy but were stabilized enough to move your head a little. Optimus stared at you and smiled gently.

Kiara looked over at you.

“You’re real messed up girl. Any longer and you would've died out there.”

You could only squint and half smirk in response, which hurt, nonetheless.

“And you, _what_ are you?” she asked Optimus, who shifted his gaze uncomfortably.

“I am Optimus Prime, I am an autonomous robotic organism. Kiara, thank you for saving Y/N’s life.”

Kiara seemed to be slightly taken aback, you suppose she was expecting something else. Can’t blame her.

“Where the hell did you come from? Why are with her?”

“That is irrelevant, what matters is that Y/N is safe. I will provide any explanations later after she has recovered.”

“I understand that, but that ain’t answer my question, what- or _who_ are you?”

“He’s my boyfriend.” You interjected.

Kiara squinted and looked like she was going to walk out of that ambulance right there.


	6. Chapter 6: Refuge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm sorry for the late update, things have been intense for me lately and rn I'm dealing with illness and recovery. I finally found the energy to write again, so bls enjoy! Things get a little spicy in this chapter! :))))) I appreciate y'alls comments so much they give me so much joy <3

You didn’t say much as you fixated on the beaming lights on the pale grey ceiling of the ambulance. It was quiet minus the occasional electronic beeps from the various medical devices and the constant hum of the vehicle’s engines. You could feel Optimus’s optics on you. You had no idea how long the three of you waited in silence until Kiara broke it.

“I’m going to take your blood pressure again.” She spoke as she fumbled around and pulled out the blood pressure monitor again.

She gently grasped your arm and wrapped the strap around it.

You knew it was helpful, but you really despised that thing; it always felt like your arm would burst.

“One hundred and two over seventy. Good, we’re making progress.”

She then took your temperature by holding an infrared thermometer over your forehead.

As she did, you took notice of Kiara’s features as she came into full view. Large almond-shaped eyes with a small wrinkle at each of the corners, and faint under eye circles. At the center were two dark orbs. Her lips were full and looked soft. She had a visible scar over the bridge of her nose at a slanted angle that ran to her left cheek and disappeared, and it was a barely visible lighter shade of brown than her dark skin tone. She had braids that pulled into a long, thick ponytail and a few of them were adorned with orange woven into them and small metal cuffs.

Her face bared an aura of tranquil focus, and her energy was calming. She looked experienced but youthful at the same time. You thought she was pretty in a way that transcended physical appearance. Her words broke your thoughts.

“Ninety-four point eight. Not hot enough, you technically still have hypothermia. Here.”

She pulled out an emergency blanket from the cabinet above and wrapped it around your upper body, instantly reflecting what little body heat you had left. That’s what you get for passing out in the snow.

After a few minutes you started feeling generally less shitty, and much warmer. You inhaled and exhaled deeply, closing your weary eyes and allowing yourself a moment or two to relax your tense body, and be vulnerable, now that the ever-present danger of being ripped to shreds by extra-dimensional nightmare creatures had passed.

_Or so you thought._

The ride to the emergency room was longer than you thought, you figured, considering you were in the middle of a barren, frozen hellscape. You had fallen into a light doze and were awaken by the ambulance pulling into a building and coming to a gradual halt. You saw Kiara stand to her feet and push open the doors.

“You, move.” She instructed Optimus. He obliged and quickly hopped out of the vehicle and stood aside.

“Can you stand?” she asked you as she aided you in sitting up and getting off the stretcher.

You placed both feet on the ground and slowly rose up, holding onto her to steady yourself as you wobbled but regained your balance.

“I’ll help you, come on. Walking will raise your blood pressure.”

She placed your arm over her shoulders and supported your back with her other arm. You stumbled out of the ambulance with her and looked up at Optimus watching you with concerned optics, he nodded at you and fell behind you and Kiara. It was odd that Kiara was just so accepting of Optimus. Reyes, a trained police officer, did not hesitate to pull out a gun at the sight of you and Optimus, but Kiara showed no fear, but simply curiosity.

As you were escorted into the facility, you took a second to absorb your surroundings. The emergency room here was a small building from what you can tell, with a large concrete garage essentially used as the unloading bay for ambulances. The overhead lighting was the same obnoxious white as the ambulance, and there were large double doors propped open with crates in front of you, something about those crates looked familiar, but you couldn’t place your finger on it.

The entrance led to a large white and sickly yellow tiled corridor with several doors and doorways on each side, and what appeared to be a medical reception area where the ceiling and space opened up at the end. You heard the ambulance doors slam and fast footsteps behind you that were different from Optimus’s distinctive heavy steps.

“How is she?” you heard the voice of Reed say as he caught up with you, Kiara and Optimus.

“Doing better. Where’s Palmer?”

“Here!” you heard a female voice echo from down the wide corridor and saw a figure running down it at full sprint. She was an indigenous thirty-something year old woman with tan skin and sleek hair in a messy braid swaying behind her as she sped. She was tall, with broad shoulders and a natural athletic build, and wore a white doctor’s coat over light blue scrubs. She stopped in front of a double door in the hall and pretty much busted it open quickly, gesturing at Kiara to bring you there.

Kiara and her helped you lie down on an examination table in what looked like an operating theater, accompanied with bright surgical lights and an observation deck from above. The walls were a retro mint and looked unnerving.

_Are they going to operate on me?_

Palmer’s eyes scanned your body as she put on blue gloves and began removing your clothes.

“Doctor Bineshii Palmer.” She nodded and introduced herself as she peeled off your jacket and shirts. A brisk air hit your skin that caused goosebumps to rise on them. You are seriously starting to abhor being cold.

“Y/N.” you said hoarsely back at her, voice filled with gravel.

Pal-, _Bineshii,_ had an LED light in her hand which she used to examine your infected shoulder. She furrowed her brows in concentration.

“I’m going to have to perform a minor debridement, to clean up the wound and remove the infected tissue.”

“Okay.”

She checked your vitals again, which were improving.

Bineshii then rolled a small metal table next to you which contained a liquid in a clear bottle, a vial, a biohazard bag, a pan, surgical instruments, gauze, bandages, and a syringe.

You looked at her place the syringe in the vial and draw up clear liquid into it.

“Relax, okay.” She reassured you as she wiped your skin with a moist pad. It must have been alcohol because it burned a nearby cut as it made contact. She pushed the needle into your shoulder near the wound, and you noticed the pain diminishing almost immediately.

 _‘Anesthetic.’_ You thought. You were close to asking her if she could use that on your entire body.

After a few minutes, you could not register any sensation from the area and Bineshii poured liquid from the clear bottle onto a large pad and began dabbing at your shoulder. She picked up surgical scissors and began cutting away at infected and borderline necrosing flesh. Pus and blood leaked out and dripped down your arm and the stench was absolutely foul, which made you gag a little and scrunch up your nose. There was nothing in your stomach so what would you even vomit back up?

“I know, it’s gross.” She said rather calmly, almost jokingly, without breaking her laser gaze from your arm.

She worked for almost an hour, cleaning, cutting, observing, repeat, until all the infected tissue had been removed. She then rinsed off the area with a saline solution. Bineshii then rolled an IV pump next to the table and inserted the IV needle into your right arm and placed a type of tape to hold in place.

“It’s an antibiotic. It’ll kill of any infections in your body. I’m gonna get to work on your other injuries, okay?”

You nodded.

She cleaned up your other cuts and placed a cold compress on your ribcage where the hematoma was. The nasty cut on your face was also treated and dressing was applied.

“This one will leave a scar on your face.”

You shrugged. Guess you’ll look cooler, like a battle -hardened veteran or something. You recalled Optimus looking at the injury after you sustained it, optics scanning your face intently and hands gently placed on your skin.

“What happened to you?” she inquired as she attached electrodes to your chest and turned on an ECG to monitor your heart rate. It beeped rhythmically as it detected your heartbeat. Hearing the monitor stirred something in you, reminding you that you had survived somehow. After a few days you had begun questioning your reality, and whether or not you were actually still breathing, or caught in some unholy purgatory that gave you the illusion of the world around you. The mechanical beeping sounds somehow grounded you.

As for her question, you didn’t know how to answer. You were contemplating confessing the truth but other questions dawned on your thoughts. Would she call the authorities? Would she kill you? What if she was scared? What would happen to Optimus?

You were hesitant, unsure of what to do, Anxiety rose in your chest like an oncoming tide, which in turn made the ECG beep at a quicker pace. Bineshii stopped at looked you in the eyes.

“Y/N, you don’t have to tell me everything all at once. From the looks of things, you just went through a very traumatic experience. I understand if you’re afraid and tired. But telling me what you can will allow me to help you better.”

You closed your eyes, not knowing what you might see when you opened them, and exhaled deeply, trying to still your uneasiness. Through a breaking voice and silent tears you relayed a modified version of the ordeal you and Optimus had endured for days.

“Me and my partner-“ you began.

You gulped.

“The uhhh…robot guy, we were lost in the wilderness after being…attacked, and we came to a rest stop.”

You inhaled and exhaled.

“It was freezing, we stayed there for a day or two because the blizzard got bad, but realized there was something wrong, and we were being hunted by these things…something I can’t even begin to explain…”

Bineshii’s eyes grew wide before darting side to side in a look you knew all too well: I’ve heard this story before.

You continued.

“We found ourselves in some underground lab after weird things began happening in the rest stop and- and we met Officer Reyes-and we…escaped.”

She glanced to the floor for a second, she was serious with hints of fear surfacing in her gaze.

“I-….I know what you’re talking about.” She said, deadpan and somber.

“You do?”

“Unfortunately.”

You did not say a word. This somehow validated everything you saw. You weren’t hallucinating, the Umbra are _real._ You didn’t know if that was somehow better or worse.

“Y/N, go to sleep if you can. I’ll speak with Reyes. Would you like your…friend to accompany you?” Bineshii asked as she stood up straight and made her way towards the exit.

“You aren’t afraid of him?”

She stopped in her tracks and turned her head.

“Should we be?”

“No.”

Not long after that, exhaustion took you hostage and beat you into a medicated sleep. Optimus was nowhere to be seen when you did.

__________

You wandered aimlessly throughout the hospital, searching for the cafeteria because your stomach was growling. You had on no shoes, no coat, no gown. You wore only white shorts and white bandages wrapped around your midsection, feet, hands and arms. You looked like a half-undressed mummy.

The hospital was dark except for a few flickering lights above and what appeared to be searchlights flooding every single window. They bathed the place in an eerie glow, like an artificial sunset in a black void.

You heard distant screams and continued walking without pause. Every door and interior window you passed showed the Umbra attacking hospital staff, nurses, doctors and patients. You could not stop your own legs from moving forward, like they had a mind of their own. Each one you passed got worse, until you could not bear to look anymore. You cried and your breathing was erratic.

You heard gunfire and more screaming, each sound adding onto the previous and morphing into a vile cacophony of mayhem.

You were so hungry, a hunger so ravenous it was painful.

You reached the cafeteria doors, only to notice they were splattered with blood.

Then you woke up.

_________

You jolted awake, heart pounding, but your body felt light, and warm. You didn’t feel much pain in your limbs as you had for days prior, and your head stopped pounding finally. You slowly blinked your eyes open as yawned and realized you were safe, and it was just a nightmare.

As you gained awareness, you noticed that you were no longer in the operating room, but rather in a smaller, private hospital room. The overhead lights were dimmed, and the day’s last natural light filtered in through the window, seeing as the beige curtains were slightly pulled apart. You turned your head and on a small white table beside your bed you saw your backpack and your old clothes folded neatly into a pile atop it. Beside the pack were two full water bottles. No weapons in sight, probably confiscated.

You went to turn your head the other direction when you felt a heavy weight dip into the bed beside you. Optimus’s figure came into your field of view, and he looked more depleted of energy than you. Regardless, he looked at you with soft eyes.

“Hello Y/N.” he spoke gently, placing a large hand on your face.

“Hey.” You said quietly back.

“How are you feeling?”

“Just peachy, Prime.”

He twitched his mouth and could not fight his growing smile. His hand caressed the side of your face that did not have the gash with such a gentle caution as if you would break under his touch.

“Optimus.”

“Yes?”

“Kiss me.”

You didn’t have to tell _him_ twice.

He blinked slowly and brought his face close to yours and placed his lips atop your own. You felt yourself take a sharp inhale, that hurt a little, at the contact. This was _so_ much better than what you expected. His metallic lips were strangely soft, and like the rest of him, warm. The heat under his plating reminded you of just how alive he was, and that heat only intensified as he kissed you deeper. You closed your eyes and brought your arms up around his neck, pulling him down. For a moment he seemed confused at your sudden actions, but then went along with it nonetheless. He was also abandoning the convention he held this entire time. After witnessing you almost die, he was not going to waste any second longer restraining himself from feeling, from living.

You craved nothing except to drown in his affection, to be safe in his presence. You wanted to keep him as close to your aching heart as possible. In this moment of darkness, of days filled with fear and tribulation, you wanted to indulge in the intimacy. While wading through a sea of the unknown there was one thing that _was_ certain in this very moment: You loved this mech like you had no other person. You no longer suppressed or questioned your sentiments. And frankly, you didn’t want to.

As peculiar and alien as this love was, it felt right.

And through this bond you found stability.

You ran your hands across his neck cables, and down his back to feel everything there was to him. You found every plate, every ridge, every wire, every detail, wonderful.

His frame loomed over your smaller one, consuming you entirely.

Your eager hands grabbed his smokestacks and rubbed them, and you heard his engine purr in delight. You found this amusing, knowing that was a soft spot you could use to your advantage at a later time.

You started crying, for some reason, astonished that you even had tears left in your body after everything.

He kissed you again, long, and deep, and filled with emotion that was almost overwhelming. You held you like you were his, and he’s right: you _were_ his. You lost yourself for a few minutes, for once feeling something else besides terror.

Lord help you, you had it bad.

You pulled away briefly to catch your breath. He gazed lovingly at you, engine idling and optics burning brightly.

“Optimus…..Optimus I think-I think I love you. Like _really_ love you.” You half laughed, half gasped out, face hot, eyes brimming with tears.

“I know.”

_‘Did he really just Han Solo this moment?’_

“And I feel the same. I am not going to pretend anymore that I do not.”

_‘Anymore? How long has he felt like that?’_

You swallowed and softly peppered his faceplates with kisses over and over again, with each one his smile grew, and he purred lowly. You kissed the spike on his helm and he almost chuckled and he intertwined his hands with yours.

You heard a knock on the door, which made Optimus shoot up and stand faster than light. He backed away from your overheating form. You’ll just tell the doctor you had a fever-

In walked in Bineshii and someone else? A much older man, probably in his fifties or sixties, pale skinned, with gray hair and even an even grayer beard. He was a thicker man, and rather large in stature. He wore metal frame glasses and the same police uniform Reyes had on but with more regalia on it, a long black coat and a police cap on. He removed the hat as he entered the room. He seemed old-fashioned, like he stepped out of a detective film.

“Good evening. My name is Chief William Holt.” He said to you and Optimus.

We both acknowledged him and Bineshii politely. Bineshii checked your vitals and documented everything before stepping out for a few minutes. She said she would return to draw some blood and get you some food. You remembered you were hungry and slightly shuddered at recalling your night terror.

The older man grabbed a nearby plastic chair and pulled up next to you and Optimus. You drank some water from the bottles, silently thanking it because you were dehydrated and not to mention you were steamily making out with Optimus a few minutes ago.

“I want to thank you for saving Martin, he’s eternally grateful.”

“Is he okay?” you interjected.

“He’s stable and will make a full recovery.”

“Thank the Allspark.” You said silently.

“He says he owes his life to the both of you. Before I go on, I want to know exactly what you and why you’re here.” He said sternly at Optimus and pointed at him.

_‘How many times does Optimus have to explain himself? Does he need to carry around a flash drive with a power point?’_

And so began the interrogation.

“My name is Optimus Prime. I am an autonomous robotic organism.” Optimus replied.

“Who made you?”

“No one did.”

“What do you mean? You’re a machine, aren’t you?”

“No. I am alive.”

“Impossible.”

“No Chief. I am speaking the truth.”

“Where did you come from?”

“…”

“Answer me.”

Optimus moved his mouth as he were to speak but caught himself before any sound left. He recollected his thoughts and tilted his head up.

“I am from the planet Cybertron.”

“Are you trying to tell me you’re an alien?”

“Yes.”

“Quit bullshitting me.”

“I am not.”

“How do you expect me to believe you?”

“You don’t have to believe me. What I say is the truth whether you believe it or not.”

Shit, Optimus was getting frustrated.

“You know I can have you arrested.” _Typical cop._

Before it would escalate any further, you interjected and raised your right arm.

“Excuse me, Chief Holt, give me a phone charger and I’ll sure as hell get you someone who can explain.” You said, rather more harshly than you intended.

“ _Who_?”

“A United States Government Agent. He’ll tell you everything you want to know, and make sure you never see us again.”

“Is it true, then?”

“What is?”

“That the United States government is harboring aliens and alien technology.”

“The answer is right in front of you isn’t it?”

“Fair enough.”

“Now let me ask _you_ something.” You inquired.

The chief stared at you, not expecting you to be so confrontational.

“Go on.” He said with a bitterness to his voice.

“Tell me what the fuck is going on in this town.”

“You saw it, Reyes told me you encountered the creatures.”

“They tried to kill us.”

“I can see that.”

His response irritated you, he sounded nonchalant, like the entire operation going on here was no big deal. You speculated for a moment if he was somehow involved, or knew more than he let on.

“Do you have any idea what happened to Officer Hidalgo?”

The chief went dead silent and froze. He dropped his tough guy demeanor almost instantly as his face turned paler than it already was.

“Why?”

“Because _I do_.”

“What happened to him?” he said as he stood up.

“He’s dead. Turned into one of those things. They’re called Umbra.”

“No..”

“I saw it with my own eyes, chief.” You said in a sepulchral tone. “You have to tell Reyes.”

“I will…once he’s recovered…I’ll…get you that charger.”

“Thank you.”

With that, he stood up and briskly walked out of the room without a single word.

Optimus turned to you.

“Why did you confront him in such a manner?”

“He didn’t trust you.”

“If you consider his perspective you can understand why.”

“Still.”

__________

Optimus fell into another recharge in the chair beside your bed after kissing your forehead, you told him he needed to rest or else he’ll be the one in a hospital bed.

Bineshii came back with chicken broth with vegetables, saltine crackers and some sliced apples…along with a charger for your phone and a sticky note with a phone number hand written on it. It seemed Holt did not want to interact with you again, for reasons you didn’t know explicitly but had some notion of. You plugged in your phone, which sprung back to life after over 48 hours of being dead. It was cracked in some places and kinda dirty, but still turned on miraculously. You slowly ate your food with silent gratitude and then took a hot shower in the room’s bathroom and changed into a fresh hospital robe as you waited for Bineshii to dress your wounds again. You were able to walk around without any major issue, but still retained some pain in your legs of course.

Your phone charged enough to make a call now. You held it on your hands, not knowing if calling Fowler will put you and Optimus in any danger. Your mind flashed the memory of hearing the Decepticon transmission over the radio and that they pinpointed jack and Arcee because Jack used his cell phone. Those words rang in your mind like an echo, and made your stomach drop.

You wondered if the same thing would happen to you if you hit that dial button.

You perked up when you had a better idea.

You looked up Fowler’s number in your contact list, and used the room’s landline to call him. Surely, the Decepticons would expect you to use your cell phone, right, and wouldn’t be monitoring every other phone?

_The cons aren’t that stupid Y/N._

You took your chances and dialed the number. It rang a few times, each ring made a wave of anxiety wash over you. You heard a click in mid-ring.

“Hello?” you heard the agent’s familiar American voice speak on the other end.


	7. Updates!

***You can skip this if you want.***

***Trigger warning for: chronic illness, mental illness, medicine, medical stuff, COVID-19***

Hello everyone! <3

I want to explain for the delay. I am so sorry for not posting chapter updates!! 

I got chronically ill in late August and was plagued with severe, debilitating aural migraines, anemia, vitamin deficiencies, thrombocytosis, anorexia, and for a while I had a weakened immune system and suffered a painful viral infection as well as really bad major depression and trauma. I had to get oral surgery because my tooth root got _so_ infected it spread to my face. My energy and will to do anything literally just evaporated, I felt like my body was dying and it wrecked what little mental stability I had left.

I've been attending cognitive behavioral therapy and have been placed on antidepressants and they have literally changed my life. I've only now made a full physical and mental recovery as of last month. I am actually in good health now, with medications/exercise/monitoring and I'm back to my healthy, athletic self again and my medical issues have resolved.

I have also been absolutely **swamped** with school and work. I am working towards being a paramedic and starting my EMT training alongside doing some new training at the pharmacy I work at, preparing/training for the COVID-19 vaccinations we received, finishing up my biology AS and working extra hours because of the holidays. (I pretty much don't sleep lmao).

I literally just ended the fall semester (I GOT _ALMSOT_ straight A's lmao, that one B *eyes emoji*) and I have some rare free time now. I've begun writing the next chapter about a week ago, but progress is slower than before. I am really busy but I PROMISE I'll post updates as soon as I can because I know how much you guys love this story, and I want to finish it!!! 

Please take care of yourselves and stay safe, I love you all and once again thanks for all the support and wonderful comments!!! 


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